PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL, MENTAL ABUSE

The acts of sexually and mentally abusing children are on the increase in different parts of country, according to media reports.

This comes after two incidents of child abuse were reported recently in the cities of Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Dodoma respectively.

In Dar es Salaam, a teacher is being held by police for allegedly sexually abusing one of his pupils.

In Arusha, a Madrasa teacher is also reported to have been taken to police for allegedly sodomising two pupils of Mkonoo Primary School in the City.

Also Read: Teacher sodomises over 20 pupils in Arusha

In Dodoma, some eight children were reported about three weeks ago as being victims of the unfortunate phenomenon.

These are not the only regions being affected, but also in Iringa Region it was reported in March that a 14-year-old boy, who is being held by the police, allegedly sodomised 19 peers after tricking them with sweets and biscuits to implement his mission.

These are all shocking incidents that show that moral decay in society is taking its toll that needs to be brought to a halt before things gett out of hand.

In actual sense, parents, elders, guardians and every member of society needs to understand that children look upon elders as their protectors. There are a number of factors resulting in the abuse of children including parents not being close to their children to even tell them about biological changes happening in their bodies and what do to avoid perpetrators.

Children are perceived as relatively in powerless position in relation to adults and therefore the latter need close supervision and protection from adults.

Mental health

Once children are abused, they will actually live the rest of their lives in discomfort and in fear of being attacked by predators as they will be haunted by what had been done badly to them.

This trend could easily increase the number of people suffering from mental health because they were sexually abused during childhood.

To make things worse, those who are accused of abusing children are close relatives, who are supposed to be at the forefront of protecting them.

A child is often viewed as a being to improve in order to reach the point of perfection; adulthood and that is why even in contemporary industrialized societies, a child emerges as a category with a social position who must go with plan of care and education.

To speak about the country’s Child Protection Act and the UN Convention of the Right of the Child is really not enough as what is needed is to take the affirmative action of protecting our children from falling victim to any kind of abuse.

It is time the country’s law-makers deliberated this issue of child abuse with its due weight and find a lasting solution because children are our future leaders who need protection from tender age.

One solution, some experts say, is to build children’s confidence on opening up about what they experience on the daily basis.

Parents and guardians, despite being busy eking a living, need to check on their children on the daily basis, help them understand their rights and why no one should do things that are evil to them.

Society must never consider itself safe until every person, even those who cannot defend themselves, are safe.

It is not time to relax. Society and the entire fabric is under attack because of these increased incidents.

All must play a role in healing the nation and protecting every member of the society, law enforcers must also play their role well.