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Prostitution in Kenya is widespread. The legal situation is complex. Although prostitution is not criminalised by National law, municipal by-laws may prohibit it. (
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...
banned all sex work in December 2017). It is illegal to profit from the prostitution of others, and to aid, abet, compel or incite prostitution. (Sections 153 and 154 of the Penal Code). UNAIDS estimate there to be 133,675 prostitutes in the country. Many foreign men and women take part in sex tourism, which is thriving at resorts along
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
's coast. Thousands of girls and boys are involved in casual
child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child pr ...
due to poverty in the region. Sex workers report abuse, extortion and violence from the police.


Sex tourism on the coast

The ministry for tourism in Kenya has been severely criticised because of its lack of response to the booming sex tourism and child exploitation on the Kenyan coast. In 2006, a study by UNICEF reported that up to 30% of the population of children aged between 12 and 18 in the coastal regions of Malindi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Diani were engaged in some form of sex work.Kenya – Sex tourism in Kenya: One girl’s story
UNICEF. Retrieved on 9 May 2011.


Prostitution and health

Access to health services is guaranteed by Article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution. However sex workers are often discriminated against and access to health services limited. Kenya is one of the world's most
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...
affected countries. Sex workers are the most affected group within the country. Research has shown that around 30% of sex workers are HIV positive. Lack of
condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of inte ...
use, (both amongst sex workers and the general public), fuelled the spread of HIV and other STIs. Since 2001, the Kenyan Government has been distributing free condoms (180 million in 2013) and educating the public on their use. The University of Nairobi and Prof Elizabeth Ngugi established a program with local prostitutes to educate and empower them by encouraging condom use. A study of Nairobi sex workers in 2015 reported about two thirds always use condoms with clients. This compares with 40% amongst members of the general public who have two or more partners. HIV and STI testing is voluntary, however as the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act 2006 criminalised HIV transmission, there is some reluctance for sex workers to get tested. The 2015 Nairobi sex workers' study found 86% had been tested, 63% within the previous 12 months. This booming trade in sex tourism goes on with the Kenyan Tourism Police's full knowledge. They do not want to discourage the hundreds of thousands of white tourists from coming to Kenya's coast, regardless of the damage it does to young Kenyans.


Sex trafficking

Kenya is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking. Boys were increasingly subjected to trafficking. Girls and boys are exploited in commercial sex throughout Kenya, including in sex tourism in
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...
, Kisumu, and on the coast, particularly in informal settlements; at times, their exploitation is facilitated by family members. Children are also exploited in sex trafficking by people working in khat (a mild narcotic) cultivation areas, near gold mines in western Kenya, by truck drivers along major highways, and by fishermen on Lake Victoria. Kenyans are recruited by legal or illegal employment agencies or voluntarily migrate to Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman, in search of employment, where at times they are exploited in massage parlours and brothels. Reports allege gay and bisexual Kenyan men are deceptively recruited from universities with promises of overseas jobs, but are forced into prostitution in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
and UAE. Kenyan women are subjected to forced prostitution in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
by Ugandan and Nigerian traffickers. Some children in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps may be subjected to sex trafficking. Children from East Africa and
South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
are subjected to sex trafficking in Kenya. Trucks transporting goods from Kenya to
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
returned to Kenya with girls and women subsequently exploited in brothels in Nairobi or
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
.
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
ese and
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n women recruited to work in mujra dance clubs in Nairobi and Mombasa face debt bondage, which they are forced to pay off by dancing and forced prostitution. The
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Kenya as a ' Tier 2' country.


Online prostitution in Kenya

The boom of online prostitution has been fueled by social media sites such as
Tinder Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder i ...
and
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
. In
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
, November 7th, 2014, Frenzen C. was quoted saying, “A group that wants to ban all sex work in Ireland is making fake Tinder profiles” in order to discourage the use of the dating app as a prostitution enabler. According to Fondation Scelles, a French NGO, apps such as AirBnB are being used for such accommodation reservations and in Kenya, the trade has made the shift to online platforms on infamous websites such as: kenyanescorts, nairobihot, kenyaraha and many more bold examples all of whom own .com domains that have been active for more than a decade. However, this new kind of prostitution still hides behind exotic services such as massage therapy and escort services. Online platforms present a greater enforcement challenge than conventional prostitution. The Internet enables clients and working girls to communicate from entirely different locations in making their arrangements. The numbers just keep growing.


See also

* Sex for fish


References


External links


Sex TourismOlder white women join Kenya's sex tourists


Bibliography


Robinson: Risk-Coping through Sexual Networks. 2011
* Nairobi Nights: Blog of a Nairobi sex worker * Luise White: The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi. University of Chicago 1990 * Anatomy of prostitutes and prostitution in Kenya. University of Nairobi 1973
'Prostitution', 'Risk,'and 'Responsibility': Paradigms of AIDS Prevention and Women's Identities in Thika, Kenya, K Kielmann, in An anthropology of infectious disease: international health perspectives, By Marcia Claire Inhorn, Peter J. Brown. Routledge 1997
* Anatomy of Prostitutes and Prostitution in Kenya. JM Gachuhi 1973. Institute for Development Studies,


History

* Prostitution, Identity, and Class Consciousness in Nairobi during World War II. Luise White. Signs. Vol. 11, No. 2 (Winter, 1986), pp. 255–273
Women's domestic labor in colonial Kenya: Prostitution in Nairobi, 1909-1950. Luise White, Boston University 1980
{{Kenya topics Society of Kenya