Expert warns silence on teen sexuality fueling HIV and pregnancy risks

Kenya is facing renewed calls to rethink how adolescents are guided on sexual health, after a youth health expert warned that silence and punishment-based approaches are leaving many young people exposed to HIV, teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortions.

Head of Programmes at the Network for Adolescent and Youth of Africa Robert Aseda said available evidence shows early sexual activity among adolescents is not rare, yet conversations around it remain limited in many homes, schools and communities.

Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Wednesday, Aseda said data patterns suggest sexual debut often begins earlier than many assume, especially when reviewing population findings linked to people now in adulthood.

“As we move to 16 to 17 to 18, the numbers get higher. It just shows that basically there’s very high sexual activity,” he stated.

He pointed to survey findings indicating early sexual exposure among a section of Kenyans, including both men and women.

He cited statistics showing that “two out of 10 men in Kenya, men between 20 to 49 years, had sex by the age of 15,” while among women “it’s a little lower, at around 13%.”

Aseda maintained that relying on criminal penalties alone does not address the behaviour or protect adolescents, but instead increases their vulnerability due to lack of information.

“What helps us is in terms of how then are we able to live within our reality to understand the reality that we live in,” he outlined.

He stressed that structured sexuality education remains the most practical tool for reducing risks among young people.

“The most important thing that we currently have pushing for is around comprehensive sexuality education, whereby young people are able to have information, so that they are able to make informed decisions about their sexuality.”

He warned that countries without such education systems continue to record higher levels of sexual health challenges among young people.

“If you look at issues around sexually transmitted infections, HIV, AIDS, teenage pregnancy, and unsafe abortions, these are higher in countries that do not have sexuality education,” the expert noted.

Aseda said many adolescents in Kenya grow up without safe spaces to access accurate information, as sexuality remains a sensitive topic often avoided by parents and teachers.

He linked the gap to wider global health concerns, noting that countries lacking structured sexuality education consistently show poorer adolescent health outcomes.

Data from UNESCO shows that only 37% of young people in sub-Saharan Africa understand HIV prevention and transmission, while low- and middle-income countries record about 21 million pregnancies annually among girls aged 15 to 19, with nearly half unintended.

The World Health Organization says comprehensive sexuality education delays sexual activity, increases condom use, and reduces risky behaviour.

Countries that have implemented sexuality education programmes report fewer cases of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections compared to those that rely on abstinence-only messaging.

Globally, nearly 25 million unsafe abortions occur every year, with Africa recording some of the highest cases due to limited reproductive health services and gaps in sexuality education.

UNESCO studies also show that adolescents who receive comprehensive sexuality education are up to 60% less likely to experience teenage pregnancy compared to those who do not receive it.

Aseda further said urban life and changing family structures have weakened traditional systems that once guided adolescents on matters of sexuality.

“You have this setup whereby you are living somewhere in the city alone, everyone minds their own business, no one is talking to you about it,” he added.

He also supported a recent High Court ruling on how the justice system should treat consensual relationships between adolescents of close age, saying it exposes gaps in enforcement and clarity in the law.

The ruling found that provisions of the Sexual Offences Act should not be used to criminalise consensual, non-coercive relationships between teenagers of similar ages.

The decision came after cases where adolescents were charged with defilement despite being in peer relationships.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye held that blanket prosecution of such cases violates constitutional rights to dignity, privacy, health, and equality, and ordered law enforcement agencies to distinguish between exploitation and consensual adolescent relationships.

The May 2026 ruling also directed the Director of Public Prosecutions to develop clear guidelines to prevent wrongful arrests and ensure consistency in handling cases involving teenagers close in age.

Robert Aseda said some adolescents have ended up in court over relationships that were not abusive, arguing that the law has often been applied without clear distinction.

“The issue was that the law has been applied blanketly,” he explained, adding that it fails to separate consensual, non-coercive relationships from cases involving abuse or exploitation.

He added that the court has now instructed both the DPP and police to develop clear frameworks that distinguish between exploitative offences and consensual adolescent relationships, to ensure fairness in justice handling.

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