Nairobi, May 8 -- On March 25, 2026, a female learner who had just started senior school under Kenya's competency-based curriculum was welcomed into the Senate chambers.

Speaker Amason Jeffah Kingi introduced her to the legislators, explaining that she was undertaking a one-week service at the Senate as part of her school's voluntary service scheme.

What followed reflected what studies have identified as one of the factors that lead communities to normalise, minimise or condone child sexual abuse: the sexual objectification of children.

Sexual activity

Research instead calls for challenging cognitive distortions that portray children as sexually willing - the false and harmful beliefs that present children as capable of consenting to,...