Kenya Conference AddressesTrafficking

A Somali refugee camp in Kenya

By Daniel Nyassy

From the Daily Nation:

Kenya- Underage girls are being trafficked in Malindi for sex, a seminar heard Sunday.

Most of the girls are from upcountry villages in Kenya. Somali women and girls are also targeted.

A two-day seminar at Eden Roc Hotel heard that a vibrant tourism sector was a major attraction for human trafficking. The seminar was sponsored by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

IOM project officer Ms Lara Quarterman said the driving force for girl trafficking in Malindi was sexual exploitation. Participants testified that many underage girls were ferried to Malindi, especially during tourist high seasons, for sexual exploitation.

A document presented at the seminar indicated that Kenya was also a transit country for trafficked women and children from South Asia, Somalia and Ethiopia to the Middle East and South Africa.
“Kenya is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation,” said the document titled Basic Concept and Terminology of Trafficking in Persons by Ms Quarterman.

Kenyans are trafficked to European countries for domestic labour and sexual exploitation, said the document. The document says refugees and asylum seekers are vulnerable, especially women and children.

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