Kenya: Department of Children Services Mounts Anti-Child Neglect Campaign in Homa Bay

Homa Bay — The Department of Children Services in Homa Bay County has embarked on a campaign to curb cases of child neglect in the County.

County Director of Children Services Peter Kutere said the department was also running a campaign against defilement noting that majority of the reported cases involved incest.

He said that they have engaged national government administration officials, the Police and other stakeholders to deal with such cases.

“We realized that cases of defilement are on the rise in Homa Bay County, and more so, those that are bordering incest. Therefore, we have started a campaign to reverse the trend,” Kutere said.

He urged the public to support the campaign adding that some of the issues were fueled by outdated harmful traditional practices.

“During Disco Matangas and when visitors come, young girls are used to entertain them and some of them end up being defiled and impregnated,” Kutere added.

He said some parents in the county such as the fisher folks were notorious for child neglect. “They leave their houses as early as 3 AM and come back at around 9 PM, without any knowledge of how their children spent the day,” he said, adding this exposes the children to abuse besides getting into harmful practices like drug abuse.

Kutere said the County Department of Children Services, handled 4,503 cases of violation of children rights last year. – Kna