Kisii County Woman Representative Donya Toto Monday called for the castration of convicted defilement offenders, saying the rising cases of sexual violence demand “bold and uncompromising action.”
The current penalties, she observed , were not deterrent enough sparking a spike in defilement incidents in the villages.
“Our children are under threat, and we cannot continue treating this issue casually,” she said.
“Anyone who destroys the life of a child through defilement should face consequences harsh enough to stop others from even thinking about it.”
Toto was speaking outside her offices in Kisii after extending help to about 200 teenage mothers .
Some victims were young girls barely 15 years.
One case consisted of a ten-year-old brutalised and impregnated by a boda boda rider in Nyangusu, Bobasi.
According to the National Crime Research Centre (2018-2022), statistics indicate that general child sexual exploitation in Kisii County is over 30 per cent, which includes defilement at 11.8 per cent, alarmingly higher than the national defilement rate that is 7.1 per cent.
The report indicates that defilement which was previously at 18.35 per cent increased to 25 per cent in Kisii County in the year 2020.
In the year 2022, the Ministry of Health, Kisii County reported alarming rates of Sexual Gender-Based Violence, where an average of 202 cases were recorded in one sub-county every 72 hours. This is alarming and calls for urgent action.
So worrying is the spike has surged the population of teenage mothers.
On Monday, Toto said she has already brought up in parliament a bill to that seeks to mainstream gender sensitisation in schools across the country as one way to address early sex among teenagers.
“It is my hope that it shall sail through so that we can mainstream sensitisation efforts to our young girls in primary and secondary school. Increased awareness would empower the girls to say no to early sex,” she stated.
She said sex related offences were snowballing into a pandemic and intentional efforts should be directed to containing the menace.
She urged for stricter punitive measures, including surgical castration for those found guilty of defiling minors.
Kisii County has recorded a worrying rise in cases of sexual violence over the past year, according to local authorities.
Toto said she will push for enhanced protection mechanisms for minors, including safe houses, psychosocial support, and stronger community surveillance systems.
“If we must take the hardest steps to protect them, then that discussion must happen now,” she said.
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