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A Review of Literature and Projects 2005
(3) Protection against abuse and
exploitation
The Child Act 2001, which covers
persons under the age of 18 years and is
in line with the Convention on the Rights
of Child, provides protection for
children against abuse, exploitation and
violence. It is a promulgation of three
acts: the 1947 Juvenile Court Act; the
1973 Protection of Women and Girls
Act; and the 1991 Protection of Children
Act. The Penal Code (Act 574) addresses
a minimum age for specific offences. The
law protects children from being sold or
bought for the purpose of prostitution:
“Whoever buys, hires or otherwise
obtains possession of any person under
the age of 21 years with intent that such
person shall be employed or used for the
purpose of prostitution or illicit
intercourse shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which may
extend to ten years and shall be liable to
a fine.” A section addresses kidnapping
of a minor from lawful guardianship. It
states that “whoever takes or entices any
minor under 14 years for male, and
16 years for female, out of keeping of
the lawful guardian of such minor,
without consent of such guardian, is said
to kidnap such minor from lawful
guardianship”. Regarding consent for
sexual relationships, the age of consent
is 16 years for females and 13 years for
males. Any sexual relationship below the
age of consent is statutory rape
(4) Access to obscene materials
The sale of obscene objects to young
persons is addressed in Section 293 of
the Penal Code. It states that “whoever
sells, lets to hire, distribute, exhibits or
circulates to any person under the age
of 20 years any such obscene objects or
offers or attempts so to do, shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to five years or with a
fine or with both.” While the control of
obscene material on the Internet is a very
challenging issue, there are several cyber
laws that can be applied to protect young
people from such negative influences.
(5) Access to and use of substances
(drugs and tobacco)
It is common for adolescents who use
drugs and alcohol to engage in risky types
of behaviour, including sex. Pertinent to
this is the law governing the sale of
tobacco products, by which a seller
commits a crime if he sells tobacco to
persons below 18 years.
3.4. Interventions
The review revealed that some
interventions have been put in place to
respond to adolescent sexual and
reproductive health needs. While there
are many kinds of intervention, two
major types are described: education and
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