A children’s health and welfare activist based in Nakuru has said that child abduction related crimes that highly contribute to poor child health and development priorities are unchecked in the country.
A representative of African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANEPPCAN) in Kenya Dr. Eunice Mung’asia, while talking to members of Teachers Progressive Women Welfare Group during a budget planning day at Deliverance church grounds in Teachers estate in Nakuru town on Sunday, advised women in the county to rise against child abduction practices, which violates the rights and dignity of children.
Munga’sia noted that women and other family members who use children as baits for financial and other economic gains in terms of dowry and child maintenance allowances from other parents and relatives of the children perpetrate many of such vises.
She noted that there are no definite laws that describes and illegalizes child abduction in the country, and that many perpetrators of the vice take advantage of the complex and skewed children custody laws that give mothers preferences in children’s custody.
“We are definitely taking advantage of the biased child custody laws to perpetrate child abduction. It is not right for one parent or relatives to gang up and conspire to take a child away from one of the parent’s custody. It is both unhealthy and a violation of the child’s rights and dignity,’’ said the activist.
She told the women group members that as mothers, they were obliged to uphold the dignity of children at all costs and not to encourage vices like child abduction due to financial gains and cultural rites.
The activist further noted that child abduction is a detrimental silent crime in most African countries that needs to be addressed in order to formulate proper child protection and development programmes.