Off the wire
• Pakistan, Afghanistan border forces observe ceasefire after clashes  • Myanmar, Mongolia sign MoU on cultural exchange  • Spanish stock market rises 1.53 pct, closes at 8,250 points  • Commentary: Washington should stop playing "Tibet card"  • Romania 1 Switzerland 1 - latest  • News Analysis: S. Sudan seeks to transform agriculture to improve food security  • Slovakia snaps historical win in Euro 2016  • Turkey performs observation flights over Russia  • British FTSE 100 rose 0.73 pct on Wednesday  • 1st LD Writethru: Bridge collapse causes two dead in Germany  
You are here: 　 Home

Tanzania records more child sexual abuse cases

Xinhua, June 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cases of raping children increased from 422 in 2014 to 2,358 in 2015 in Tanzania, indicating a 560 percent jump, a senior official revealed Wednesday.

Ummy Mwalimu, Tanzania's Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, described the statistics as shocking "as it happen at the time when we're seriously fighting against child abuse and rape."

However, cases involving raping adults decreased from 5,606 in 2014 to 3,445 last year.

The minister issued the statistics when speaking about the commemoration of African Child Day to be marked on Thursday across Africa under the theme: 'Child Abuse Is Preventable; Take Action to Protect the Child'.

The day was set by African Union (AU) in 1990 to remember the massacre of 2,000 children that occurred in Soweto, South Africa on June 16, 1976 by then apartheid government.

Citing latest police statistics, the minister said cases of rape and child abuse are on the increase, noting that from January to March, this year, child abuse cases reported to police were 1,765, indicating that the number is likely to be higher by the end of this year.

She said her ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has written the Attorney General, asking for review of Child Act No. 21 of 20 November 2009 because it counteracts government efforts to protect children.

The minister said the Marriage Act, 1971 is also counteractive to efforts of child protection, stating that the law is also lined up for review.

The minister said her ministry was doing everything at its disposal to ensure a Bill to review Child Act was brought to Parliament by September this year.

The minister said the Child Act after being reviewed would also deter people from employing girls under the age of 18 years as house girls.

Giving details on child sexual abuse, the minister said in 2009 the government in collaboration with UNICEF carried out research on the matter after which it was found that three among ten girls and one among seven boys suffered sexual abuse at least once before reaching the age of 18 years.

It was also found in the research that four out of ten girls and three out of ten boys have suffered sexual abuse more than three times before reaching the age of 18 years.

The research further revealed that six out of ten girls suffered sexual abuse masterminded by family members while one out of two children were sexually abused by their teachers.

Mwalimu said that 49 percent of gender based violence (GBV) cases occurred at homes. Endit