Kakamega County First Lady Prof. Janet Barasa has called on local administrators to ensure that no sexual crime and Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases, especially those involving schoolgirls, are settled in Kangaroo courts.
She lamented that survivors of such cases have never gotten justice, adding that the cases should be brought before relevant authorities for severe action to be taken on the culprits.
Speaking at Bulimbo Primary School on Thursday during the farewell party for outgoing school Headteacher Edith Khisa, Prof. Barasa noted that girls are facing a triple threat in the community affirming that her office is determined to address the challenges.
“Even after advocating for the safety of our girls, they are still under the triple threat of HIV, GBV and teenage pregnancy. It is important to note that teenage pregnancy has become a thorn in the flesh of our schools and the community at large,” she said.
She noted: “Recently I went through statistics to know how Kakamega is doing in terms of the triple threats and I noted that we have over 13,000 girls who were impregnated within a short period of time.”
Prof. Barasa said that the 13,000 teen pregnancy cases are those that were reported in both Ministries of Education and Health but there are unreported ones in the villages.
She thus called on parents to care and be close to their school going girls.
“Let us not leave the mandate of modeling our children to teachers, parents should also be at the forefront to guide the girls,” she said.
The First Lady also noted that according to the report released by the Ministry of Health, there is a rise in the number of youth infected with HIV and called on youth to be mindful of their sexual adventures.
She further asked women in the County to join women groups saying that beginning next month, her office will start distributing grants to such groups to aid in starting new businesses and also improve on existing ones.
By Our Reporter
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