The Power of Education in Kenya
By: Marty Dean
Numerous studies have concluded that increased access to education is associated with less risky sexual behavior. The correlation between education and empowerment is a pattern that can be seen worldwide. More specifically, in Kenya, educated women are more likely to know their sexual partners, have fewer partners, use condoms, and have sex at a later age than uneducated women (1). With HIV/AIDS being the number one cause of death among young adults in some sub-Saharan African countries, education can fuel the fight against HIV/AIDS (1).
Even more so than general education, comprehensive sexual education can give women the power to resist unequal sexual power dynamics that leave them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. Comprehensive sexual education is defined as a “rights-based and gender-focused approach to sexuality education” and includes information about contraception, childbirth, sexually transmitted infections, and more (2).
In 2013, the Kenyan government signed a declaration that stated that they would focus on scaling up comprehensive sexual education programs beginning in primary school (3). Considering that 86% of Kenyans attend primary school and only 33% continue to secondary school (3), it is imperative to begin sexual education at an early age.
There are several barriers to scaling up comprehensive sexual education in Kenya. One of these barriers is the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) (4). As recently as 2020, the KCCB reinitiated a fight against comprehensive sexual education. Currently, the KCCB is encouraging parents to sign a petition to pressure the government to pull out of the 2013 commitment to scaling up comprehensive sexual education (4). The Stop CSE movement asserts that comprehensive sexual education is “one of the greatest assaults on the health and innocence of children” and that this form of education violates parental rights (4).
In addition to the Stop CSE movement, lack of resources and training for teachers is another barrier to educating children on sexual education. In a study done by the Guttmacher Institute, it was found that three-fourths of schools claim to cover all the topics included in the definition of comprehensive sexual education; however, only 2% of students in the study reported learning about all the topics. Lack of resources can leave teachers unable to cover all topics. Furthermore, sexual education is considered to part of the life skills curriculum, yet life skills is not an examinable topic, which often leaves the subject without enough focus (3).
Some recommendations to increase access to sexual education include a focus on starting sexual education in primary school, instead of waiting until secondary school. In addition, a wider range of topics should be integrated in the life skills curriculum. Furthermore, life skills should be an examinable topic so that it is guaranteed to receive equal attention as other subjects. There also needs to be a greater focus on properly training teachers and providing them with the necessary resources to best educate their students on topics regarding sexuality (3).
1. Adamczyk_Greif_2011_EducationandriskysexinAfrica.pdf
3. https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/sexuality-education-kenya#