Alleviation of Child Abuse as a Religious Duty Examining the Role of the Catholic Church in Promoting Child Welfare in Kajiado County, Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, cultural practices have idiomatically remained a big thorn in the flesh among the various pastoral communities of Kenya. These pastoralist regions have remained traditionally undeveloped areas; either by design or by default. Such areas have posed a major challenge to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) No. 5 globally, as well as in Kenya. This research article sets out to investigate the role of the Catholic Church in alleviating Child abuse in Kajiado County, which is directly addressing SDG No. 5, which requires the “Elimination of all harmful practices, such as child [abuse], early and forced marriages and female genital mutilation.” Specifically, the research article evaluates the Catholic Church's social teachings and activities which enhance the alleviation of child abuse in Kajiado County. Besides identifying the challenges faced by the Catholic Church, it equally assesses the strategies adopted by the said Church in order to overcome this enigmatic problem of child abuse. This research article is set on the premise that the failure to eradicate child abuse will lead to the continuous psychological, emotional, physical and poor developmental growth of children, hence failing to attain SDG No. 5. The research article is justified by the need to respond to the alarming reports by media, opinion leaders and members of the community concerning the prevalence of child abuse amongst the Maasai communities in Kenya. For good results, this research article has adopted a descriptive survey design in order to collect in-depth data from a diversified sample of respondents who represent the whole Kajiado County population. Simple random and purposive sampling methods were used to choose a sample size of a number of respondents. At the end of the research article it has been revealed that the Catholic Church has social teachings on caring, creating a safe environment for children and ably demands integrity from the assigned the care-givers. Although it was an uphill task and a major challenge in reporting and investigating cases of child abuse, due to some cultural restrictions, the Church has adopted measures such as forming the Diocesan children and youth departments, which helps in formulating policies and advises their respective Church committees on appropriate measures to be taken on child protection. It is finally recommended that the civil authorities and the Sub-County Children Department could protect victims of abuse through giving proper information on the children rights and also by speedily liaising with the authorities in arresting child abusers.