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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 6

Publication Date: June 25, 2023

DOI:10.14738/assrj.106.13849.

Njama, D. K., Bor, E., & Mwaeke, P. (2023). The Implications of Child Trafficking on Society, A Case Study of Westland Sub-County

Kenya. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(6). 172-182.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

The Implications of Child Trafficking on Society, A Case Study of

Westland Sub-County Kenya

Daniel Kamau Njama

Department of Peace Security,

Social Sciences, Egerton University, Kenya

Erick Bor

Department of Peace Security,

Social Sciences, Egerton University, Kenya

Panuel Mwaeke

Department of Peace Security,

Social Sciences, Egerton University, Kenya

ABSTRACT

This paper uses data collected for an MA Thesis on the implications of child

trafficking on society, a case study of Westland Sub-County, Kenya. The study has

been motivated by increased cases of child trafficking in Kenya, especially within

Kitsuru, though with little research activity in this area. The study was guided by

the following research objectives; to determine the prevalence of child trafficking

cases, to establish factors responsible for child trafficking to examine the effects of

child trafficking on victims and finally to assess impact of child trafficking in

Westland-Sub-County, Kenya. This study was grounded by Bronfenbrenner’s

(1994) Ecological Systems Theory. The study used mixed method design and a

purposive sampling design model. The main method of data collection was the

interview. In addition, FGDs were used to collect data from the victim respondents.

The sample size comprised of 50 respondents that included; DCI Officers,

Employees from; HAART Kenya, Kabete Remand Home, Children Department and

Parents of Trafficked children. Data was coded and analyzed using NVIVO software,

computer software for managing qualitative and quantitative data. The first

objective established prevalence average, of about 11 children that are trafficked

every month in Westland’s Sub County. The study further established frequent

information tips of 10s of children being clandestinely trafficked outside the

country though without arrests, indication a possibility of very intricate web of

organized informers for child traffickers. The second objective established the

factors responsible for child trafficking in Westland Sub-County, Kenya. These

included; high demand for women in sex trafficking (60%), economic hardship

(90%), demand for cheap domestic and agricultural labour (80%) poverty (100%),

and demand from human organ harvesting sector (50%). In all this the underlying

factor is the temptation of poverty. The third objective established the effects of

child trafficking on Victims in Westland Sub-County, Kenya from both the

perspectives of adult respondents and from the victim respondents. These include;

Low self-esteem and self-worth, inability to trust and build meaningful

relationships in later life, substance misuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder all

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Njama, D. K., Bor, E., & Mwaeke, P. (2023). The Implications of Child Trafficking on Society, A Case Study of Westland Sub-County Kenya. Advances

in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(6). 172-182.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.106.13849

rated at 90%, fear, anger and hostility, sexualized behaviour, pseudo maturity and

self-harm all rated at 80 percent. The fourth objective established the impact of

child trafficking in Westland’s Sub-County, Kenya; educational impacts, economic

impacts, health impacts, societal impacts and national security impacts that are

likely to ground the country’s economy, trap families and communities into cycles

of poverty amongst other impacts. Amongst other major recommendations, the

government should first treat as a national disaster and hand it as such.

Keywords: Child trafficking, Prevalence, Interlocking Impacts on Society.

INTRODUCTION

Human trafficking has been identified as a large remunerative industry across the world with

women and children being the most affected perhaps due to their vulnerability and to a larger

extent, ignorance of their human rights (Alvarez & Alessi, 2012; Chincholkar, 2016; Rafferty,

2013). Similarly, even though the international labour organization (ILO) report (2008) singled

out trafficked victims to generally include men, women and children alike, women and children

form a greater proportion of those who are victimized into trafficking largely due to their

susceptibilities which is perceived to be related to social-economic and cultural factors. Gouty

(2015) avers that human trafficking can either occur domestically or across borders, with the

victim’s movement trend indicating to be mostly from underdeveloped areas to developed

countries or from rural to urban areas in the case of domestic trafficking (Gouty, 2015; Miko &

Park, 2001; Rahman, 2011; Zhang & Pineda, 2008). Further, United Nations Office on Drugs and

Crime (UNODC, 2008) argued that a country for example, Kenya may serve either as a source,

transit and/or destination of trafficked victims.

Human trafficking or ‘Trafficking in person’ (TIP) is defined by the United Nations as “the

recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of person by use of; threats or use

of force or other form of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or position of

authority or giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person

having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation” (UNODC, 2008). However,

the definition of child trafficking in international standards, differs from the overall definition

of TIP in two critical ways. First, the Palermo Protocol (2000) defines trafficking in children as

“the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of

exploitation.” No violence, deception, coercion or other fraudulent means are required for a

child to be considered a victim of trafficking. Second, the concept of exploitation in child

trafficking is broader. Besides the Palermo Protocol (2000) defined a child to be any person

under the age of 18.

Child trafficking violates human rights standards as defined by international law, like the

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Trafficked

children are usually denied education and salary, but they are also physically, psychosocially

and sexually exploited, exposed to harmful working conditions, diseases and early pregnancy

(U.S. Department of State, 2007). They are exposed to inhumane living conditions, poor

sanitation, inadequate nutrition, poor personal hygiene, occupational hazards and general lack

of quality health care (Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Hence, child

trafficking is extremely harmful for the children and their human development. According to

End of Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT) Report, (2005) trafficked children suffer

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 6, June-2023

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

from physical and psychological health issues such as fear, depression, low self-esteem and self- worth, poor social skills, anger and hostility, inability to trust and build meaningful

relationships in later life, blurred roles and boundaries, pseudo maturity, sexualized behaviour,

guilt, shame, substance misuse, self-harm (including suicide), post-traumatic stress disorder

and physical disabilities (ECPAT, 2005).

According to the ILO (2015) the impact of child trafficking is wide-ranging and long-lasting on

the community and on the country’s development as a whole. Further, ILO (2015) pointed that

there are severe social and economic impacts on national level, on the community, as well as on

the child and her/his family. Trafficked children lack education and even if they are rescued

they have physical and psychological injuries or diseases and as a result unable to study and

develop their skills for their later life. The implication here is that potential productive workers

are lost from economy retarding the development of the nation and communities. The children

may also need health care and rehabilitation which needs resources and funding from their

communities and the government. ILO (2015) as argued that victims of child labour are more

prone to become less skilled, poorly paid workers, or alternatively remain unemployed. In

countries like Kenya unemployed youths are also subjected to radicalization and thus child

labour might negatively correlate also with security (ILO, 2015).

Most people are lured out of their communities as a result of multiple interrelated factors

including social, economic and cultural at the personal, community and or national levels. This

makes trafficking require a comprehensive and human right based approach to manage it

(Chuang, 2006; UNODC, 2008; Kraemer, 2013; Rafferty, 2013; Adesina, 2014). In addition to

the fundamental factors, the growing levels of global networks and markets contribute to the

fueling of trafficking across the globe for known reasons, notably abuse and exploitation

(Gallagher, 2009; Huang, 2017; Smith, 2017). This is because of how globalization tends to

make criminals stronger through networks, giving them an upper hand over systems that fight

them (Danailova-Trainor & Belser, 2006).

International Organization of Labour (2008) estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked

every year worldwide, but there are no exact numbers of trafficked children. UNODC (2008)

argued that human trafficking may either be; cross-border or Internal trafficking. Further, even

though there relatively much data on trafficking in human beings in South Eastern Europe there

is far less documentation available on the European Union and other Western European

countries, and even less information on Central Asia. Equally important is the fact that it is

extremely difficult to quantify how many children are affected, given the challenges in

identifying children who have been trafficked and the lack of reliable data-collection systems.

An analysis of the flows and patterns of cross-border trafficking indicates that European

countries are important destination countries in the trafficking chain, but are also countries of

origin and transit (UNODC, 2008)

Generally, not much attention has been paid to addressing human trafficking and more so child

trafficking issues in Africa (Zimmerman, Hossain & Watts, 2011). This is despite the implication

that this problem may have had on individual victim’s lives, their immediate families, their

communities and even the in their countries. According to UNODC (2016), in the numerous

trafficking flows within and across these Sub-Sahara African countries, majority of victims

(64%) are children (UNODC, 2016).