The application of international instruments toward combating child prostitution in kenya: a critical analysis

Abstract

This study focuses on the application of international instruments towards combating child prostitution. The study has three objectives. The first is to explore the phenomenon of child prostitution and its nature in Kenya. The second is to examine international instruments adopted for combating child prostitution. The third is to investigate the application of international instruments for purposes of combating child prostitution in Kenya. The study established that child prostitution is a vice that requires urgent attention because it infringes on the rights of the child victims. Child prostitution is inhuman and goes against the best interest of the child. It is a complex problem with intertwined causative factors and consequences that transcend international borders. To effectively address this problem, it was observed that there is a need for international co-operation. The study demonstrated that there are many international

instruments that are geared towards combating child prostitution. However, it was observed that the provisions addressing this issue are scattered in a myriad of international instruments. It was proposed that a single instrument dealing with the issue of child prostitution would be a positive step towards combating it. The study found that child prostitution is rampant in Kenya. It was discovered that Kenya is at the forefront in making efforts towards combating child prostitution. The government has not only ratified the international instruments designed to combat child prostitution, but has also made considerable efforts to implement these instruments. However, 'in order to make greater achievements in combating child prostitution, it

was argued that Kenya should make prostitution a crime, harmonies some discrepancies in the law concerning children, apply the principle of extradition, and have issues concerning children specifically reflected in the Constitution.