Kenyan campaigners call for establishment of database for sex offenders

Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-11 19:53:53|Editor: xuxin
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NAIROBI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan gender rights campaigners on Tuesday urged authorities to set up a database for sexual offenders in a bid to enhance their rehabilitation.

Uwemedimo Esiet, convener of the ninth African Conference on Sexual Health and Rights (ACSHR 2020) said that innovative strategies are required to tackle sexual violence against women and girls in areas including urban slums and remote villages.

"We have a duty to eradicate the menace of gender and sexual violence by coming up with a database to identify their names, location and general behavior," said Esiet.

"A database for sexual offenders will in many ways boost speedy prosecution of cases and rehabilitation aimed at reintegrating them back into their communities," said Lavender Akinyi, a volunteer of Polycom Development Project that works for women welfare in Kibera slums, Nairobi.

She said that an inventory of sexual offenders will enable law enforcement agencies and communities to identify their whereabouts and the potential risk to vulnerable demographics like young girls living in urban slums.

"Both the government and community-based rights groups should have access to information on sexual offenders and undertake progress on their rehabilitation in order to mitigate future threats," said Akinyi.

Kenya is hosting the ninth African Conference on Sexual Health and Rights (ACSHR 2020) to discuss policy and legislative tools that can be harnessed to advance the reproductive health agenda for youth living in urban slums.

The conference is a buildup of the International Conference on Population and Development(ICPD 25) held in Nairobi in November 2019.

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