Socio-Environmental Factors Contributing To Sexual Debut among Adolescent Girls Living In Informal Settlements A Case of Kibra, Nairobi County

Abstract

Early sexual debut among teenage girls in informal settlements has been known to have serious negative impacts whose consequences could last a lifetime. The study sought to identify the socio-environmental factors that contribute to the first sexual experience of adolescent girls in Kibra, establish the perception of adolescent girls living in Kibra on sexual debut, and evaluate intervention strategies towards delaying sex debut among the adolescent girls. Through purposive sampling, the study identified a sample of 100 out of a target population of 333 teenage girls aged 13-17 who accessed the Kibra Community Health Centre-AMREF for youth-friendly services. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by the use of two questionnaires, and the collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 23. Regarding the reasons behind the adolescents’ first engagement in first sexual activity, the adolescents’ willingness ranked first, at 55%; followed by peer pressure, at 27.8%. Further, the social workers attributed adolescents’ sexual debut to poverty and lack of sexual privacy. Regarding their perceptions on sexual debut, more than half (56.3%) of the adolescent girls believed that they still needed to learn more about sex, while most of them (88%) felt that it was better to abstain from sex until they are 18+ years of age. On the intervention strategies towards delaying sex debut among the adolescent girls, the highest mentioned by the adolescent girls was guidance and counseling (at 60%), while the social workers mentioned provision of basic needs to the girls, among other strategies. The study recommends the establishment of more institutions oriented towards instilling good values in teenage girls so as to help them uphold abstinence and only engage in sex marriage.