Yesterday I was sent for a video on whatsapp that has traumatized me. It was a video of a young maid of about 12 having sex with a boy who is about 4. That video has haunted me.The person was asking whether we know what the maid is doing with our children. I don’t have kids but have a nephew. My nephew is 7 1/2. I started wondering apart from praying for him and asking God to protect him from sexual predators have we done enough?

When children go to school they are often taught that it is inappropriate for their private parts to be touched sexually. But what happens if the maid who is washing them is the one who is touching them inappropriately and is also teaching them how to have sex. I was talking to a colleague about that video today & she asked me “how would you know if your child is being sexually abused by the maid?” I had to find answers to that and you will find it in the links at the bottom of this post.

What if the maid has told your child that they are playing a fun game by touching their sexual parts? Would they know that it is abuse? I wondered about the guy or lady who took that video of the maid having sex with the child. What was their agenda? Was it to show the parents? Why didn’t they stop the abuse instead of just filming it?

I remember a story about a little boy whose’s nanny left because she was sick. The boy told his sister lets play how I played with auntie. Those two children eventually died of AIDS. The maid was sexually abusing the boy and he got HIV which he passed to his sister. I wonder do we talk to our children about what is appropriate touch? Do we tell our children if somebody touches you on your private or wants you to touch theirs you should say no and report them? I know there was a children’s helpline to report abuse but if they cant report abuse to their parents how easy is it to report it anonymously. If you do need to contact a helpline there is childline Kenya. Find their contacts here +254 727 637076, +254 20 2059722, +254 735 813344 Helpline 116. Email info@childlinekenya.co.ke, 116@childlinekenya.co.ke

I think that is a story the media should take up. Do a news feature on sexual abuse of children by their caregivers. they should give the signs and tell parents what they should look for. They should also give helplines. Imagine finding out that your child was being abused by the maid or the watchman or even a relative. Many parents are naive and the thought that their child/ren could be abused may never cross their mind.

That video I think will haunt me for long. That girl looked like she had been taught all those things by somebody else. Then she started the cycle of abuse herself. It is clear that she knows what she is doing is wrong but she doesn’t care.

Child Sexual Abuse Warning signs

What is considered child sexual abuse?

Child sexual abuse includes touching and non-touching activity. Some examples of touching activity include:

touching a child’s genitals or private parts for sexual pleasure
making a child touch someone else’s genitals, play sexual games or have sex putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual pleasure

Some examples of non-touching activity include: