UNLESS children are given the will power to raise the alarm against sexual abuse the number of child defilement cases may never reach a zero rate in Zambia, Africa.
Latest Zambia’s child sexual abuse for the period January to September 2017 stands at 1,466, according to a police report.
Despite that these figures are lower by 168 cases over the same period last year; the fight to end this vice has been intensified by Norway’s
Support Centre for Survivors of Incest and Sexual Abuse (SMISO in collaboration with Response Network.
SMSO representatives Ms. Preciosa Lurås and Ms. Arja Beruang working are conducting educational lectures for school going children in Livingstone and other neighbouring districts to bring an end to this vice.
At one lecture session Ms. Beruang told Grade 5 school boys and girls of Holy Cross Primary School in Livingstone that they were the masters of their bodies and that they should report any cases of defilement or improper touching of their bodies to the police.
Lecturing the averagely 11 year-olds in the presence of their class teacher Mary Mwaanga and a visiting Norway/Fredskorpset (FK) representative Ms. Nina Zimmer, Beruang said one out of four children are defiled in Zambia.
And Lurås told the children those that are defiled take about 17 years before they report of their ordeals.
And the Zambia Police in its third quarterly news update revealed that Lusaka province leads in defilement cases with 136 acts reported as the end of September followed by Central and Eastern Provinces.
The report made available by police spokesperson Mrs. Easther Mwata Katongo shows that a total of 416 child defilement cases were reported countrywide representing 8.2 per cent of the reported cases, victims all being girls.
“Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of defilement cases with 136 cases translating to 32.7 per cent of the reported defilement cases, Central recorded 50 cases, Eastern recorded 44 cases, Copperbelt 42 cases, Southern Province 39 cases, North-Western had 27 cases, while Muchinga and Luapula had 26 cases each. Northern Province had 11 cases while Western with nine (09) cases.”
The report added that the 2017 defilement cases reduction from the 2016’S 1,634 recorded in 2016 translating in to a reduction 10.3per cent.
“The country also recorded 9 cases of Defilement of imbeciles or persons with mental illness. 80 cases of Rape, 12 attempted rape and 22 indecent assault cases were also recorded during the period under review. 20 cases of incest were reported out of which 14 were females and 6 girl victims. Also recorded were 5 cases of unnatural offences out of which 3 were female victims, one 1 male adult and one male juvenile,” the report revealed.
NB: This story has since been used in Zambia’s independent Newspaper-The Mast of Thursday, November 16th.