21 Sep 2015

Acting senior assistant council secretary for Hukuntsi Sub District, Ms Onalenna Kaboeamodimo has pleaded with the community to respond to violence, exploitation and abuse against children.

Speaking at the official opening of the Child Protection workshop in Hukuntsi recently, Ms Kaboeamodino said that the community should fully denounce commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation and child marriage.

Violation of the child’s right to protection, she said takes place in every society and are massive, under-recognised and under-reported and have become barriers to child survival and development.

She said children subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect are at risk because such could result in poor physical and mental health, HIV/AIDS infection, educational problems and poor parenting skills later in life.

Ms Kaboeamodimo encouraged the community to build a protective environment for children which would enable them to be prosperous future leaders. 

“The community needs to build a protective environment for children that will help prevent and respond to violence, abuse and exploitation and such environment should address harmful attitudes and practices as well as encourage open discussion of child protection issues that includes media and civil society partnership,” she said.

Ms Kaboeamodimo emphasised the need for communities to establish child protection committees in order to create child friendly environments and guard against child abuse.

She said there was need to establish strategies to strengthen the protective environment for children that should include community-based approaches that promote and strengthen the capacity of families and communities to address child protection issues. 

Further, she pleaded with the society to refrain from sweeping child molestation and abuse matters under the rug, particularly those involving close family members. 

Ms Kaboeamodimo highlighted that a lot of child abuse and molestation cases go unpunished as family members opt to withdraw them and settle them out of court. This, she said, has contributed immensely towards the increasing child abuse and molestation cases involving family members. Ends