Sexual Offense Laws in Kenya. Legal Framework and the Role of Consent

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Law - Criminal process, Criminology, Law Enforcement, Moi University, language: English, abstract: This research examines the legal framework for governing sexual consent and accessing whether it has been successful or not. This research will also propose reforms on the legal framework governing sexual consent for the strengthening of laws on sexual offenses in Kenya. Sexual offenses remain a major challenge that Kenya is facing today. Sexual offenses have adverse effects of derailing not only ones legal, social and economic development but also that of the country as a whole. There is a high prevalence of gender-based violence in Kenya. Sexual violence takes many forms, including rape, sexual assault, defilement, incest, and many others. This type of violence is a reflection of gender inequality in a society where mostly men exercise power over women and girls. The Sexual Offenses Act, 2006 was passed in order to deal with the problem of sexual violence since sexual offenses were previously governed by the Penal Code.