Child trafficking-keeping your child safe

An eerie pink crayon sketch of Winnie dangles among her teddy bears in her crib. Her parents haven’t seen the 5 year-old since that fateful Sunday morning when she wondered off—or so they think, from Sunday school in the vast Embakasi Estate of Nairobi.

As evening approached, the horrific realization sunk in: Their daughter, the child they had sacrificed everything for, the child they had started a saving scheme for, had probably joined the thousands of children snatched from their parents each year in Kenya in a burgeoning child-theft racket.

The recent headlines on sex offenders and abductions remind parents, grandparents and other caregivers of their worst nightmares. If you’re not around, even for a moment, and a stranger approaches your child, would your child know what to do?

It is estimated that more than 20,000 children are stolen and trafficked annually in Kenya!
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation. It usually begins with child abduction or child theft, which is the abduction or kidnapping of a child (or baby) by an older person. Child abduction takes different forms but the most common in Kenya is where a stranger removes a child for criminal purposes such as sale, child sexual abuse, torture, murder, extortion, to elicit a ransom from the child’s caretakers or sometimes with the intent to rear the child as their own.

Child theft is a felony under section 174 of the Kenyan penal code whose punishment is seven years imprisonment. Section 13 (1) of the Children’s Act entitles every child to protection from physical and psychological abuse, neglect and any other form of exploitation including sale, trafficking or abduction by any person.

While cases have been reported from the past, this phenomenon has recently taken on greater awareness and has left many parents frightened and unsure about how best to protect their children Yet with all the news and reports of child theft and abductions, the question that every parent ought to ask themselves is if you’re not around, even for a moment, and a stranger approaches your child, would your child know what to do?

As a parent, you also have to take precautionary measures to safeguard your child. Know your babysitter. Know your employees and co-workers. Do background screening and reference checks on everyone who works at your home, particularly those individuals who care for your children. Their knowledge of your family is extensive so make sure that you have an equivalent understanding of who they are.

The first thing most parents do is to warn their children of strangers. But is your idea of a stranger the same as your child’s? Does your child have friends you don’t know? You may consider them strangers, but does your child? Take an interest, are there adults or even older children who greet your child regularly, perhaps on the route to school. Your child may consider such a person no longer a stranger.

Teaching our children sound safety precautions is probably the best safeguard parents can provide. Do not wait. Only don’t make the child paranoid—afraid of every new person he sees, but don’t put off the discussion. Repeat in frequently. It is a reasonable precaution. Talk openly to your children about safety and encourage them to tell you or a trusted adult if anyone or anything makes them feel frightened, confused, or uncomfortable. The key is to help children feel empowered and to encourage them to develop and trust their intuition. Know your children’s friends and their families. Pay attention to your children and listen to them. If you don’t, there’s always someone else who will.

There are other precautionary measures such as:
» Asking your child to always take the same and safest route to and from school each day.
» Teach them to remember their own name, their parents’ names and where they live.
» Ask them to always to be with a friend when playing, never to accept money or candy from strangers, never go along with or accept rides from someone they do not know, to scream, yell, kick and cause hell if a stranger tries to take them by force and to report any unusual or scary incidents to parents or teachers.
» Your children should avoid public restrooms unless they are with a trusted adult.
» If your children should become lost inside a supermarket or building, tell them to go to a nearby clerk or security guard or a mother with child for help.
» Never send a young child out alone at night to run an errand or purchase some item you need.
» When in public, always keep your young child in sight. Never leave very young children unattended.
» If the kids are of learning age, teach them how to use the telephone if they need help. Practice what you teach by creating “what if” scenarios with your children to make sure they understand the safety message and can use it in a real situation.
» It’s also best not to let your children wear clothing or carry articles with their names on them. A stranger may pretend to know them by calling their name and acting like a friend.

Should it happen
Should your child go missing, first, don’t panic. Breathe (of course you will be hyperventilating and imagining the worst-like most parents do). Make a brief, reasonable search. Is he really missing? Check your home, his school, his close friends, neighbours, make calls to be sure. Then immediately report the situation to your local law-enforcement agency, giving them all the information you can. If there is gender and children’s police desk near where you live, make sure they are informed as well. Spread the word to all your child’s friends and relatives. Perhaps your child will get in touch with them, or they may already know something.

Take a clear, sharp, full-face photo of each child at least once a year, on the back of the photo note the current information for each child such as their age, height and weight and any distinguishing body marks. Also include the date the picture was taken. This is for your keeps should you need it to find a missing child.

The writer is a lawyer with the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)

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