21 Jun 2015

The government, parents and organisations should play a crucial role in protecting children against any form of abuse.

Speaking during an interview during the commemoration of the Day of the African Child on June 16, the principal social welfare officer at Francistown City Council, Ms Daisy Ikaneng said children were faced with many different challenges, top of which was sexual abuse.

The common reports of sexual abuse, she said, included rape and incest and mentioned that such cases were referred to the police while in some instances cases were referred to them by the police. She explained that a major concern is that in most of these cases, the perpetrators are usually relatives. 

She said that in an attempt to address issues affecting children, they visit different areas around Francistown speaking to dikgosi, consulting ward development committees as well as training members of the District Children Consultative Forum (DCCF) in schools nationally.

The chairperson for the DCCF, Cantona Bolokang who is also a Form 4 student at Mater Spei College said that June 16 is an important day which emphasises the importance of protecting the rights and responsibilities of children.

He said that teenage pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse continue to be some of the challenges bedeviling the youth. 

For his part, Kgosi Gunny Moses added that beside child marriages, there are also under reported challenges which include child neglect, juvenile delinquency and recognising that children have a right to know their biological parents.

He explained that simple things such as parents’ failure to attend Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings, not showing any interest concerning children’s academicperformance as well as failure to attend to children when they show any sign of illness are signs of child neglect.

fforts: Celebrating success, combating child marriages.” BOKHUTLO