Teenage Girls Targeted For Sexual Exploitation

7 February 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

Teenage girls fleeing their homes to escape post-election skirmishes and finding temporary shelter at the Nakuru Showground now face another threat. They have become prey to men who exploit them sexually as well as those seeking cheap labor. The girls, aged between 12 and 18 said they had become victims of child labor and sexual abuse. Some people were posing as volunteers from non-governmental organizations only for them to sneak girls out of the camps to take them to brothels said a member of a humanitarian group. In one case, it was alleged that a man who has been making donations at the camp was behind the scam. It was also alleged that some of the fake volunteers remain in the camp after 6pm only to lure girls to have sex with them in exchange for cash. The co-coordinator in charge of the camps in the district, Mr. Jesse Njoroge said cases of child labor were alarming.