Ministry Launches Curriculum to Prevent Violent Extremism among Children
The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in Kenya has launched a new training curriculum and manual focused on preventing and countering violent extremism among children.
The initiative aims to enhance the capacity of children officers in identifying, preventing, responding to and countering violent extremism among children.
Cabinet Secretary (CS) at the ministry, Florence Bore, noted that the project is aimed at preventing violent extremism through rehabilitation, vocational training, and social integration for children in conflict with the law.
Speaking at the launch in Nairobi on Thursday, Bore commended the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for providing support to statutory children institutions by offering equipment for vocational training, scholarships, counselling and reintegration, family empowerment, positive parenting programs, and micro business start-up kits, among other things.
“The launch of the new curriculum will not only equip the children officers with knowledge on identifying, preventing, responding and rehabilitating children involved in violent extremism but it will also provide officers with recommended measures and solutions for self-care and mental health wellness as they deal with such cases,” said the CS.
Bore observed that a considerable number of children in Kenya are involved in conflict with the law, with about 4,500 children documented to be in conflict with the law in 2021.
Offences committed by these children include immorality, drug trafficking, robbery with violence, house break-ins, among others. Bore stressed that this poses a threat to the success of the country, as the success of a country is dependent on its young generation.
She emphasized that it is everyone’s duty to reduce the chances of these children transitioning into adult criminals. The launch of the new curriculum is expected to equip children officers with the knowledge to identify, prevent, respond to, and rehabilitate children involved in violent extremism.
The officers will also receive recommended measures and solutions for self-care and mental health wellness as they deal with such cases. The ministry and other stakeholders in the juvenile justice system will ensure that all officers are trained on the standards of dealing with child offenders as provided for in the Children Act, the care and aftercare procedures, in order to equip them with the necessary skills required in their work.
Bore revealed that her ministry will also collaborate with the Ministry of Education to ensure that learning and other educational programs are introduced in the remand homes. This will enable continuous education for the children as they await their cases to be processed through the justice system.
Kenya enacted the Children Act, 2022, which contains considerable modifications to enhance the betterment of children in conflict with the law. Section 19 of the Children Act provides elaborate measures to protect all children from being recruited or subjected to armed conflict, while Section 144 identifies a child who is recruited or is at risk of being recruited into or exposed to unlawful or in imminent danger.
The State department of social protection and senior citizen affairs Principal Secretary (PS), Joseph Motari, indicated that six rehabilitation schools have been equipped with state-of-the-art vocational training equipment in tailoring and dressmaking, masonry, electrical and wiring, mechanical and automotive, confectionary, among others.
He added that a total of 85 children had undergone vocational training over the last two years, with some getting toolkits to establish their businesses once they were released.
The economic empowerment of parents has also been a crucial aspect of the initiative, with Motari noting that many children who get into the wrong side of the law have parents who are not economically empowered.
Ministry Launches Curriculum to Prevent Violent Extremism among Children