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{
"id": 1276167,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1276167/?format=api",
"text_counter": 228,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "2019 census established that the number of adolescents aged eight to 19 years was 14,115,080, making up to 29.7 per cent of the population. That the population of persons aged up to 25 years, which includes those who will have transitioned from the age of the adolescents, moves this age group to 35 per cent of the total population. Recognising that adolescence is a period that signifies the transition from childhood to adulthood, it is marked by crucial psychological and mental growth a pivotal phase of human capital development. It is also an opportune time to reinforce fundamental values and beliefs, given that it is the most defining stage of human growth and development, a stage that comes with vulnerability and risks that require a supportive and protective environment. It is evident that inadequate, comprehensive investments and guidance to adolescence can lead and has led to unfavourable decisions during this critical phase, with enduring implications into adulthood. Disturbing statistics indicate that since 2016, our health facilities have attended to a total of 2,347,754 adolescents in antenatal clinics, including an alarming 143,502 children aged between 10 and 14 years, who are pregnant. Furthermore, the data from 2022 is revealing that 42 per cent of reported 59,715 cases of sexual and gender-based violence are among adolescents aged 10 to 17 years. Despite interventions implemented from January to March this year, a concerning 8,775 adolescents aged 10 to 17 years, reported incidents of sexual and gender-based violence. Additionally, in 2022, we witnessed an unsettling trend with approximately 62 new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, at 62 per cent new infections accruing among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years on a weekly basis. These figures emphasise the urgent need for strategic and targeted interventions to safeguard the well- being and future of our adolescent population. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, adolescents occupy a distinct phase that bridges childhood to adulthood, where they experience varying treatment as children or adults, depending on circumstances. This is a stage that is also characterised by legal and policy ambiguities that turn out to be detrimental to adolescents. For instance, the paradox emerges from the definition of all those below 18 years as being children and encompassing adolescents who lack autonomous access to healthcare, yet they are regarded as adults when they become pregnant, even if this is just a 10-year-old. Curiously, there is tolerance across sectors, to prohibit sex education for school children, while failing to curtail access to permissive internet and social media platforms. This leniency exposes Kenyan children to explicit content, including pornography. Despite classifying sexual relations with children as defilement, official data that illustrates correspondence data on child abuse cases and prosecutions show that we have high number of children pregnancies, thus, undermining deterrence."
}