Haki Yetu organisation has launched a one-week training of over 20 grassroots paralegal officers in Kwale county.
The officers are being trained in how to stop and tackle different forms of gender-based violence.
The region has continued to record surging numbers of teen pregnancies and early marriages, many of which are settled out of court.
Haki Yetu alone has handled more than 30 cases since the outbreak of Covid-19. Currently, they are working on 18 fresh cases, which are already in court.
Haki Yetu officer Trizia Gacheru said the training is meant to empower the paralegal officers with knowledge and mechanisms to help find justice for GBV victims.
Gacheru said in many cases culprits go scot-free for lack of compelling evidence.
"We've had situations where girls are defiled, they are pregnant but can't access justice because the evidence was tampered with," she said.
Gacheru said the activists will be taught various laws relating to human rights to help stem the vice at the community level.
She said some rights defenders lack basic knowledge of how to file a strong case against the perpetrators because of late reporting and victims refusing to cooperate.
The officer said some parents don't know how to go about taking legal action against the offenders once their children are impregnated or defiled.
This is because they are not conversant with their rights and court procedures.
She said parents instead agree to be compensated, thus exposing their children to physical and psychological health complications.
The majority of defiled minors suffer from sexually transmitted diseases like HIV-Aids because parents kept quiet and only report pregnancy cases, she said.
Gacheru said the training will see the paralegal officers educate the communities on dealing with GBV right from the start until justice is served.
"We are hoping to create legal aid awareness to the voiceless victims and get necessary assistance through the trained officers," she said.
Matuga Sauti Ya Wanawake chairperson Mwanakombo Jarumani said educated paralegal officers will ease lawyers' work.
She said the attorneys have had a rough time getting the required documents to deal with defilement cases.
"These grassroots officers will be guiding the families through the legal processes," Mwanakombo said.
She, however, said ignorance and greed for wealth remain a challenge in the fight against teen pregnancies and early marriages.
Some parents use their children as a source of income. Last month a Standard 8 girl was reported to have been forcefully married off by her parents in Lunga Lunga.
She was married to a 35-year-old man in exchange for money.
Mwanakombo said culprits are now preying on over 18-year-old schoolgirls and ruining their lives.
She said such cases are unlikely to survive in courts and called on the government to protect schoolchildren regardless of age.
-Edited by SKanyara
