Online sexual exploitation and abuse (OSEA) is rapidly escalating across Kenya. Predators are no longer hiding; they are operating openly on everyday applications.
Two new reports from Equality Now, a global human rights organization, confirm that digital platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and M-Pesa are being exploited to recruit, groom, and traumatize local women.
The first report, titled "Experiencing Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Kenya: Survivor Narratives and Legal Responses," features the stories of twenty survivors seeking justice and support. An accompanying policy brief, "Not Just Online: Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Across Digital and Physical Realities," further examines the interconnectedness of online and offline abuses.
These reports identified India, Kenya, and the US as focal countries for campaigns involving local women's rights organizations. The initiative aimed to gather evidence of survivors' experiences and enhance the understanding of national and international policymakers regarding necessary changes.
These changes are crucial at both international and national levels to combat Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV), with a specific focus on sexual exploitation and abuse.
Understanding Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV)
Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV) is defined as acts of violence committed by one or more individuals that are either facilitated or worsened through information and communication technologies. These acts target individuals based on their gender and/or sexual identity or by enforcing harmful gender norms.
This manifests through technology-facilitated sex trafficking, online sexual coercion and extortion, and image-based sexual abuse, including the use of deepfakes and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
It is vital to recognize that online and offline abuses are not separate entities but are profoundly interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Technology frequently amplifies existing patterns of gender-based violence.
Limited digital literacy, combined with factors such as displacement due to climatic changes and persistent poverty, creates an environment conducive to sexual exploitation.
Technology has empowered perpetrators to exploit these vulnerabilities, targeting women and girls in both rural and urban areas with false promises of improved livelihoods.
TFGBV Beyond Kenya's Borders
In India, Equality Now collaborated with various stakeholders to identify gaps, challenges, opportunities, and priorities in addressing TFGBV.
Rachna, a lawyer in Delhi, shared a case involving a perpetrator and survivor who were both students at a prestigious university in Delhi and came from affluent families. During their romantic relationship, the woman had shared intimate photographs of herself with the perpetrator.
At one point, while the relationship was ongoing, she received a message from an unknown individual on social media inquiring if she was the same person whose photographs he had seen on a chat website. The sender identified her through her public social media profile.
The boyfriend, who was the perpetrator, had been posting her photographs on various websites and interacting with people while impersonating her. The survivor discovered this two to three months after the perpetrator had initiated these actions.
Rachna noted that both parties were approximately 20 to 21 years old at the time. The survivor expressed no shame in having shared the pictures but wanted the violation to cease so she could completely disengage from the perpetrator.
It is concerning that social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok, dating sites, encrypted messaging services, and mobile money applications such as M-Pesa are increasingly used to lure women and girls into dangerous situations.
The absence of binding obligations for tech companies to monitor and report harmful content exacerbates the problem, as social media platforms often fail to enforce their OSEA policies adequately.
Perpetrators can reach, manipulate, blackmail, harass, and shame victims with unprecedented speed, reach, and anonymity, frequently operating with impunity both within and beyond Kenya's borders.
This has subjected survivors to a range of violations, including being coerced into creating sexual content, blackmailed with intimate images, livestreamed during abuse, and trafficked.
Contributing Factors to TFGBV Among Women in Kenya
Access to technology, its utilization, and the necessity of digital literacy are fundamental to contemporary life. As technology and the internet become integral to our daily existence, the myriad digital media and platforms available have evolved into arenas where gender-based violence (GBV) is actively perpetuated and amplified.
A consistent pattern observed in TFGBV is the disproportionate targeting of women and LGBTQI+ individuals, with their social positions playing a critical role.
Furthermore, numerous studies have highlighted existing deficiencies within legal structures across many countries, which significantly impede the system's ability to respond promptly and effectively to support TFGBV survivors.
Participants in discussions emphasized that poverty frequently compels women and girls into exploitative situations in exchange for a livelihood. Many seek employment opportunities by contacting recruitment agencies on social media platforms like Facebook and Telegram.
These agencies are often fraudulent, serving as fronts for trafficking rings. The women are deceived into paying for services through mobile payment systems such as M-Pesa and are subsequently trafficked abroad, primarily on visitor visas rather than work visas.
Upon arrival in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, or Thailand, the women and girls are provided with the contact details of men who pose as their employers.
Kenya's Legal Framework for Addressing OSEA
Kenya has enacted progressive legislation and policies to address sexual exploitation and abuse in both physical and digital spaces. This includes the Sexual Offences Act (2006), the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act (2010), and the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018), along with the recently passed Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act (2024).
The country has also ratified international and regional instruments, such as the Maputo Protocol and the Palermo Protocol, which obligate states to protect women and girls from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.
However, Kenya's legal system remains anchored in outdated definitions of abuse, often treating online and offline harms as separate issues. Enforcement remains weak and fragmented.
National laws have not kept pace with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and algorithmic targeting. They also fail to adequately recognize or define key online harms, including livestreamed sexual abuse and image-based sexual exploitation.
The Path Forward
Comprehensive legal reform is still urgently required to strengthen and harmonize Kenya's laws, enhance digital forensic capabilities, and ensure survivor-centered justice. Current reviews of the Sexual Offences Act and the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act present critical opportunities for progress.
Experts are urging Kenya to adopt trauma-informed, gender-responsive approaches and to improve coordination across justice, health, and psychosocial systems.
There is a need for enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, increased institutional capacity to prevent and respond to abuse, and stronger accountability mechanisms, supported by adequate resources.
Sustained prevention and awareness initiatives are also essential to challenge harmful social norms and cultivate a culture of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse.