The Presidential Technical Working Group (TWG) on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has expressed concern that some parents engage their daughters in hawking businesses in major towns which exposes the girls to defilement and early pregnancies.
At a Public Participation forum that was chaired by Linah Kilimo the team also noted that there were cases where young girls were employed to serve illicit brew in the local alcohol dens a factor which was contributing largely to teenage pregnancies and loss of moral values.
The team which took submissions on causes of GBV in the area from members of the public at the Red Cross office at Kanduyi noted that Bungoma County was leading in GBV cases in the country at 62 percent and asked for a review of some cultural practices that were hindering the fight against GBV in the county.
The team called for a review of the curriculum during the seclusion period of boys who have undergone circumcision, as some of the values inculcated in them were making them despise the females in society.
Kilimo said that members of the public had indicated in their submissions that there were cases where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was being done to newborns in some areas of Mt Elgon Sub-county despite elders of the area having made a declaration to stop FGM.
Bungoma Deputy Governor Jenepher Mbatiany called on area residents to work towards changing their mindsets on issues of GBV and concentrate on solving the problems instead of throwing blame at one another.
She said that cases of GBV in the area were real and a threat to a generation and called for concerted efforts in the fight against the vice, saying every member of the community has a role to play.
By Catherine Nyongesa
