KENYA COUNTRY PROFILE ON CHILD MARRIAGES

August 23, 2023
Country Profiles

What is the prevalence of Child Marriage in Kenya

With up to 4.2 million girls (23%) married before 18 years, and 1 million girls married by the age of 15 years, Kenya has the one of the highest absolute numbers of child brides in the world . Child marriage is commonest among the Pokot people who live in the Northern region where 64% of girls are married before 18.

In addition a 2017 UNICEF study found that 3% of boys in Kenya are married by 18; with the highest rates registered in the Pokot people where 38% of boys are married before 18 years, followed the Somali population where 14% of boys are married by 18.

Causes of Child Marriage in Kenya

In Kenya, child marriage is exacerbated by:

Poverty:

As shown in chart 1 above, girls from poor households are four times as likely to be married off before 18 than those from wealthy households. This is because they are considered as financial assets and exchanged most times by their fathers for bride price.

Low Levels of education:

According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2014, girls with no education in Kenya are 24% more likely (62%) to get married before 18 than those with primary education (38%). On the other hand, only 7% of girls with secondary education are at risk of getting married before 18. A major hinderance to girl education is parents who pull them out of school as soon as they menstruate in anticipation for marriage.

Harmful traditional practices:

The beading custom among the Samburu people which allows men to engage a girl as young as 6 years by placing a bead around her neck with the consent of her parents.
Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C): which is widely practiced among the Kuria, Maasai, Turkana and Rendille and is done from the age of 9 years. Girls who are circumcised are paid highly for in terms of bride price
Marrying off pregnant adolescents: this is used to protect the family name and prestige and to attract a higher bride price from the perpetrator. Particularly in the Kuria culture, pregnant girls are married off to men whose wives have not born them sons. Overall the society

Natural disasters and climate change: Drought conditions deteriorated in Kenya in 2017, resulting in 6 million food insecure people requiring humanitarian assistance. UNICEF reported that children were at increased risk of being separated from families, dropping out of school and being married off as a survival tactic. According to Maasai girls’ rights activists prolonged droughts prompt many families to give away young girls as brides in exchange for cattle. The long walk in search of water also exposes young girls to sexual abuse and unwanted pregnancies, which may in turn initiate an early marriage.
Displacement: As of November 2019, Kenya hosted nearly half a million refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo – countries with high prevalence of child marriage. While we lack concrete evidence of child marriage taking place in Kenyan refugee camps, available literature indicates that displacement increases girls’ vulnerability to child marriage due to the breakdown of social networks, the lack of protection systems and the increased risk of sexual violence.

What’s the minimum age for marriage

Under the Marriage Act 2014 the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years with no exceptions.
In addition, the Counter Trafficking in Persons Act, 2010 classifies child labour, child marriage and sexual exploitation as forms of exploitation.

International, Regional and national commitments made to End Child Marriage in Kenya

Kenya has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The government did not provide an update on progress towards this target during its Voluntary National Review at the 2017 High Level Political Forum.
Kenya co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage, and the 2013 Human Rights Council resolution on child, early and forced marriage. In 2014, Kenya signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.
Kenya ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1984, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.
In 2017 the CEDAW Committee raised concerns about the practice of bride price and child marriage in Kenya.
During its 2015 Universal Periodic Review, Kenya supported four recommendations to strengthen efforts to eliminate child marriage.
In 2000 Kenya ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage.
In 2010 Kenya ratified the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.
In 2017 Kenya became the 19th country to launch the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa.
Kenya is one of 20 countries which has committed to ending child marriage by the end of 2020 under the Ministerial Commitment on comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young people in Eastern and Southern Africa.
At the London Girl Summit in July 2014, the government signed a charter committing to end child marriage by 2020.
Kenya is one of the countries where the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)/DREAMS Initiative is working to reduce rates of HIV among adolescent girls and young women.
Kenya is a partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

What is the government doing to End Child Marriage

The National Plan of Action for Children in Kenya (2015-2022) acknowledges that child marriage leads to physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children and that public awareness targeting barazas (community meetings), families and children is important.
The National Plan against Sexual Exploitation of Children in Kenya (2018-2022) recognises child marriage as a harmful practice that contributes to child sexual abuse and exploitation, and it envisions activities to engage men as community champions in reducing child marriage.
In October 2016, the Gender Department and Anti-FGM Board within the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender led the development of a draft National Plan of Action on Child Marriage. This process involved Girls Not Brides members, and consultations led by UNICEF Kenya are continuing. However, as of 2020 this National Plan is not finalised.
UNICEF Kenya and the Australian High Commission organised a Stakeholders Meeting on Child Marriage in November 2017, where the #ENDChildMarriageKE campaign was launched.
Kenya is one of the Phase II focus countries of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C (2018–2021).
District Probation Offices are active within several areas of Kenya and are responsible for rehabilitating child marriage survivors, investigating cases of child marriage, making recommendations to relevant authorities and sensitising communities on the consequences of child marriage.

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