Kenya: Practical Measures Needed on Teen Sexual Education

Many secondary school students in Kenya are already sexually experienced but lacking in sexual and reproductive health awareness, according to a recent survey. The Nairobi-based Center for the Study of Adolescents polled youths from four provinces in 2008.

Of girls surveyed, 40 percent reported being sexually experienced, including half who said they had exchanged sex for gifts or money. Among boys, 50 percent said they were sexually experienced, though their encounters were not transactional and usually with same-age peers. One in 20 boys said they were responsible for a pregnancy. In all, 47 percent of the teens said they were pregnant, had had a child, or had undergone abortion by age 20.

Many health facilities are not youth-friendly, said Mwanakasi Mwinyi, a youth peer educator at Likoni Community Development Center. During a hospital trip for a reproductive health problem, Mwinyi received judgmental looks from medics and was interrogated "about why and with whom I was having sexual intercourse." "I bore the shame of their questions and got the help I needed, but I would never go back there again," Mwinyi said.

Sex education in Kenya's government schools makes virtually no mention of contraception and safe sex, largely due to strong opposition led by the Catholic Church. Such advice would be tantamount to encouraging kids to have sex, say Christian leaders.

"What we have is information that barely scratches the surface, and in the end the young people are left with many gaps to be filled" by peers, said Peter Macharia, coordinator of a Mombasa youth center run by Family Health Options Kenya.

"There is need to invest in youth-friendly clinics where young people can speak freely and get assistance without feeling vilified," said Macharia. "The staff manning the clinics must be trained and should have skills to deal with young people."

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