Women and girls as young as 12 from Kenya’s countryside are being forced into sex work to support families affected by prolonged drought. They have little or no education and travel at least 50 kilometers (30 miles) to reach urban areas, working in unsafe conditions far from their homes.
“Since I was raped, I entered into prostitution, because I saw that is something that my family depends on,” a 24-year-old mother told the International Rescue Committee (IRC). “It is not something good, but the need to care for these children is what forces me, because I don’t have anywhere else to run to,” the woman said.
The IRC has been working in Turkana, a region in northwestern Kenya with over 276,000 people in need of food assistance. Turkana, which borders both Uganda and South Sudan, also suffers from Kenya’s second-highest HIV infection rate, according to Mercy Lwambi, the women’s protection and empowerment manager for IRC.
The impact of drought on rural communities such as those in Turkana’s countryside can be particularly harsh. In addition to soaring food prices, rural families face decimated livestock and diminished crops. With grim prospects for survival and a dire need for money, young girls find themselves in early marriages, child labor and forced prostitution.
