New research has revealed that digital platforms are increasingly being used to abuse and exploit women and girls in Kenya. Social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, online dating platforms, and mobile money services like M-Pesa are being used to lure victims into harmful situations, including sexual exploitation, coercion and trafficking.
The findings are contained in two new reports released by Equality Now in partnership with KICTANet, HAART Kenya, Life Bloom Services International, and Trace Kenya. The reports show how online sexual exploitation and abuse (OSEA) has become a fast-growing form of violence affecting women and girls across the country.
The first report, Experiencing Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Kenya: Survivor Narratives and Legal Responses, documents testimonies from 20 survivors. It highlights how abusers use digital tools to groom, blackmail, threaten, shame and physically abuse their victims.
A second policy brief, Not Just Online: Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Across Digital and Physical Realities, shows how online harm often leads to offline violence, including human trafficking and sexual assault.
Researchers say predators have taken advantage of technology’s speed, reach and anonymity. In many cases, abusers pose as employers, partners or sponsors, promising jobs or financial support. Once victims trust them, they are manipulated, blackmailed or sexually assaulted.
In 18 of the 20 cases documented, the survivors were targeted because of financial vulnerability. Several victims were lured with job offers in Kenya and abroad, only to face sexual abuse after arrival.
One survivor shared how a job offer in Malaysia turned into repeated rape and threats. “He told me that sleeping with him was the only way he would help me get my work visa,” she said. She reported the incident when she returned to Kenya, but officers demanded proof she did not have.
The reports show that many survivors do not report abuse due to fear of shame, stigma or retaliation. Those who report often face blame from family or pressure to settle matters privately.
Survivors also encounter difficulties with the justice system. Some officers lack training in handling digital evidence or trauma, while corruption and delays lead to many cases collapsing.
One student said she was raped by two men she met on Facebook. When she reported the case, police asked her to pay Sh8,000 to track the suspects. “It felt like I was being punished again,” she said.
Kenya has several laws meant to protect women and children from sexual exploitation. However, the reports say these laws have not kept pace with new forms of digital abuse, including livestreamed exploitation, deepfake images and online blackmail.
There is also little coordination between institutions such as police, hospitals and courts, making it difficult for survivors to get help and support.
Experts are urging the government to: Update laws to reflect new forms of online exploitation, improve digital evidence investigation and forensic capacity, provide trauma-informed support to survivors strengthen cooperation between justice, health and community services and raise public awareness to reduce stigma and prevent exploitation
They also recommend that Kenya ratify the Malabo Convention, a regional treaty on cybersecurity and data protection, to improve cross-border cooperation in tracking perpetrators.
The researchers say that while technology has opened new opportunities for communication and work, it must not be used to harm women and girls.
The report recommends a coordinated national response — involving government, civil society, tech companies and communities — is urgently needed to protect women and ensure survivors receive justice.
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