Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has presented a Petition before the House of Parliament to amend the Penal Code to provide for the offense of sextortion.

This has been brought about by a rising number of cases of sexual exploitation being witnessed both in the Public and private sector.

Passaris describes sextortion as the abuse of power by those in authoritative positions to coerce individuals both male and female into providing sexual favours.

“Sextortion has become a pressing issue in the country causing immense harm to victims and eroding trust in public and private institutions. The demand for sex in exchange for essential resources, services and opportunities is both an infringement of human rights and a significant obstacle in achieving development goals, predicated on gender equality, transparency and accountable governance,” states Passaris.

The legislator avers that our Laws fail to recognize or define sextortion as a form of sexual exploitation, harassment and corruption thus hindering the effective prosecution and victim protection.

“It is against this that I humbly pray that the National Assembly, through the Public Petitions Committee, proposes amendments to the penal code, the sexual offences act and any other relevant criminal Laws to explicitly define sexual extortion as an offence and make clear provisions on penalties, support for victims and for connected purposes.” appealed Passaris.