Kenyan Drought Drives Women and Girls Into Prostitution

Girls as young as 12 are being forced into having sex for money to feed their families in drought-hit parts of Kenya, according to a new report. 

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The study by the International Rescue Committee, IRC, found that in rural areas of Turkana, one of the regions hardest hit, girls are being solicited in nightclubs, earning as little as US 50 cents for sex. 

Many of them are also the heads of their households with younger siblings or even children of their own who depend on them for food.

“The current drought has led to scarcity of food and an increase in women and girls who need support now more than ever,” IRC country director Conor Philips said.

In one night, IRC case workers found 320 girls aged between 12 and 17 whom they believed were involved in transactional sex.

Invited to a drop-in centre, 88 of the girls were visited in the following days and they confirmed that they had been driven into prostitution as a direct result of the drought and lack of food.

A 24-year-old sex worker in Lodwar named Mary told the IRC that she became a sex worker so she can help her family. 

“The children are always disturbed, because they are feeling hungry. Some even cry when they come from school and find there is no food,” Mary said. “It is not something good, but the need to care for these children is what forces me, because I don’t have anywhere else to run to.”

Drought across Kenya has left 2.6 million people vulnerable to food shortages.

That number could increase to 3.5 million in need of targeted assistance by August.

The United Nations has warned that some people could soon be a step away from famine.

The IRC report also found an increase in sexual gender-based violence and cases of defilement in the country, as well as a rise in child marriages. 

From January to June, the IRC received reports of 67 cases of child rape, an average of 11 per month, with victims aged nine to 16,

Before the drought they saw one or two cases a month.

The IRC has also seen an increase in attacks on children who are left alone in their homes at night while men are out in the fields with the livestock and their mothers are working.

Since 2014, the IRC has been running education centres and job training in Lodwar, as well as providing care and support for the survivors of abuse.

However, recent funding cuts have led to staff reductions and fewer programs. 

“The shutdown of IRC programs is a tragedy for an extremely vulnerable population who depend on us for counseling and mentorship,” said Phillips.

“Donors should reinstate funding now, supporting girls to get out of commercial sex work and have better and safer opportunities to feed themselves and their families.”