Gender, Sexuality and the Media: A Question of Accountability: Maternal Sexuality Socialization of Kenyan Daughters

Abstract

Young people are at a higher risk of contracting HIV than other population groups in Kenya as is the case elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Kenyan adolescents constitute more than 25.9% of the country’s population (KNBS, 2010). Ignorance about human sexuality among adolescents informs their attitudes and risk-taking behaviours. Informal educational interventions that target adolescents can complement school interventions and help protect them from the risks of sexual infections and accidental pregnancies. As a result of biological and socioeconomic factors, HIV has a gender bias that increases the risk of infections among females than males. This research focused on pre-teenage girls how they are socialized with respect to sexuality by their mothers before they became sexually active. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design with a target population of 220 women and their 10-12 year-old daughters. Half of this population constituted the experimental group and the second half the control group. Both groups were subjected to a pre-test, which also served as a diagnostic tool that informed the design of an educational intervention programme. The experimental group received an educational programmatic intervention for a period of six months at the end of which a post-test was carried out to evaluate the impact of the educational programme. The pre-test results revealed no significant differences in the demographic profiles of the experimental and control groups, as well as in the ways the mothers interacted with their daughters during school days, and weekends and in the subjects of their communication. The post-test however showed significant differences between the control and experimental group in favour of the experimental group. A comparative analysis of pre-test and post-test data on mother-daughter communication about sexuality highlighted the importance of educational programmatic interventions, for the pre-teenage girls. The analysis showed that parents can effectively socialize their young offspring about sexuality. Nevertheless, the importance of programmatic interventions should not be downplayed.