By Benjamin Mutuku | Clinical Psychologist, Workplace Wellness Expert Trauma-Informed Healing Enthusiast, and Intentional Parenting Trainer & Coach
“She looked like any other child. But behind her eyes lived a story no one dared ask about.”
Child sex trafficking isn’t just a “foreign problem.” It’s not just something happening in dark alleyways or far-off countries. It’s here. In our towns. In our churches. In our neighborhoods. And too often, it’s hiding in plain sight—behind school uniforms, Sunday dresses, and polite smiles.
As mental health professionals, parents, teachers, clergy, and community members, it’s time we stop looking away. Because the truth is uncomfortable—but silence is a crime of its own.
What Is Child Sex Trafficking?
Child sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a child (anyone under 18) for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
In simpler terms:
It is when a child is used for sex in exchange for anything of value—money, food, school fees, protection, or even just false love.
In Kenyan law, this includes both local and cross-border trafficking. It can happen through deception, coercion, or grooming—and it does not require force for it to be illegal.
5 Common Myths We Must Unlearn
- “Trafficking means kidnapping.” → Not always. Many children are trafficked by people they know: relatives, neighbors, even pastors.
- “You’ll be able to tell if a child is trafficked.” → Trafficked children often mask their pain. They may appear “normal” to avoid shame or punishment.
- “It doesn’t happen in my community.” → Kenya has reported trafficking in urban slums, rural villages, refugee camps, and even middle-class estates.
- “If the child didn’t run away, maybe they agreed to it.” → Children cannot give consent to abuse. Fear, manipulation, and trauma bonding keep them stuck.
- “Once they’re rescued, they’ll be fine.” → Rescue is just day one of a lifelong healing journey. Without proper psychosocial support, many remain trapped emotionally.
How Child Sex Trafficking Actually Looks in Our Context
In our Kenyan communities, child trafficking might show up as:
- A 14-year-old girl being “sponsored” by an older man who provides her school fees.
- A young househelp who is being sexually abused by her employer but has nowhere else to go.
- A boy who ran away from home and is now engaging in transactional sex to survive on the streets.
- A child refugee promised safety and instead exploited for sex.
- A pastor or teacher who abuses their position of trust behind closed doors.
And sometimes, it’s not even physical. It’s online grooming, sharing of explicit content, or abuse through digital platforms.
What These Children Actually Need
What we owe trafficked children goes far beyond rescue. They need sustained, trauma-informed care, including:
- Safety & Shelter: Immediate removal from danger into loving, structured environments.
- Therapy: Access to trained psychologists using child-centered, evidence-based approaches.
- Education: Reintegration into learning environments where they aren’t stigmatized.
- Legal Protection: Strong case follow-up, prosecution of perpetrators, and child-friendly justice systems.
- Unconditional love: Relationships that are predictable, gentle, and restorative.
As Psychologists: Models That Work
When working with survivors of trafficking, we must move slowly, safely, and wisely. Here are psychological frameworks and models that serve well:
1. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Helps children process trauma, challenge shame, and rebuild healthy thinking patterns in a structured and supportive way.
2. Play Therapy
For younger children or those who can’t verbalize their pain, play becomes the language of healing. It helps rebuild trust and process trauma safely.
3. Narrative Therapy
Allows children to re-author their story—not as a victim, but as a survivor—giving them ownership and dignity.
4. Polyvagal-Informed Interventions
Focuses on calming the nervous system and restoring a sense of safety in the body. Grounding exercises, breathwork, and relational presence are essential.
5. Attachment Repair Work
Many survivors have experienced betrayal trauma. Therapeutic relationships must model security, empathy, and reliability to support relational healing.
What Can We All Do?
For Everyone:
- Be curious, not judgmental. If a child’s behavior suddenly changes, don’t write it off.
- Listen when kids talk. Believe them, even when the story is messy or hard to hear.
- Know the red flags: unexplained gifts, sudden withdrawal, frequent absences, fear of adults.
- Create safe spaces. Homes, churches, classrooms—every space should be a trauma-aware zone.
For Faith Communities:
- Speak up from the pulpit.
- Audit your leaders.
- Make safeguarding a priority, not an afterthought.
For Policymakers & NGOs:
- Fund mental health care, not just rescue missions.
- Train CHVs, police, teachers, and social workers to spot and report cases.
- Provide long-term support, not one-time interventions.
Final Word: We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For
“She doesn’t need a hero. She needs a safe adult who won’t walk away.”
Whether you’re a parent, psychologist, teacher, or simply a human being with a heart—this issue belongs to you too.
We may not all be able to stop trafficking, But we can all start seeing it. Start speaking. Start building a world where no child’s body is currency, and every child’s soul gets a second chance.
Let’s be loud. Let’s be brave. Let’s choose protection over politeness. Let’s make healing louder than harm. Thankyou Beracah Wellness Services UNICEF Save the Children International UNOPS Millennium Child Support Group ChildFund International Child.org Children’s Rights at the Council of Europe ECPAT UK – Campaigning against child sexual exploitation and trafficking Journalists Against Child Exclusion, Abuse & Trafficking Awareness for Child Trafficking Africa ACT Africa Trauma Institute & Child Trauma Institute ChildFund International Anti Child Trafficking Division Special Unit [NG] ERASE Child Trafficking Betty Wambua
✍️ Written by Benjamin Mutuku – Clinical Psychologist, Workplace Wellness Expert, Trauma-Informed Healing Specialist, and Intentional Parenting Advocate. 📩 For partnerships, training, or survivor support programs, contact Benjamin at benjaminmedia23@gmail.com
