QECH’s One-Stop Centre registering more defilement cases
Despite several initiatives by Police and different organisations aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of children in Blantyre, the One Stop Centre at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) has registered as many as 119 defilement cases since January this year.
Essentially, this translates to an average of 30 reported cases a month, and as shocking as the figure looks, it is a slight improvement from an average of 35 cases per month reported last year.
Speaking in an interview Tuesday, Assistant Social Welfare Officer for Blantyre, Chikumbutso Salifu said most reported cases are from Ndirande, Machinjiri, Bangwe and Chirimba, with Ndirande topping the list.
According to Salifu, from January to April this year, the centre has registered an average of 32 rape cases per month, of which 95 percent (30 cases a month) are defilement cases.
“In April alone, the centre registered 44 defilement cases. We really need to continue working hand in hand in advocating for child protection. It is unfortunate that most of these cases are perpetrated by close family members or those trusted by the children,” he said.
Executive Director for Step Kids Awareness (Steka), Godknows Maseko, whose organisation that looks after close to fifty children, attributed the problem to lack of parental care.
He said most of the cases are reported from high density areas where families are struggling to survive and children are left to take care of themselves as parents or guardians are busy looking for survival modes.
“In these areas, children spend up to 95 percent of their time alone while their parents are at work or at business places, some, mostly girls, are seen in unsafe places like video shows in old hours either selling food staffs or just lingering about. This puts innocent girls at risk,” noted Maseko.
He called for more sensitisation meetings on evils of defilement and for the police to be vigilant in protecting the country’s children.
“The courts also need to give stiffer punishments to perpetrators to deter would be offenders,” added Maseko.
National child protection officer for Malawi Police Service, Alexander Ngwala, said police are implementing a youth and schools outreach Programme called ‘Safe Schools initiative’ to deal with the problem.
Under the initiative, the Police are deploying complaint boxes in public primary schools for children to reporting all forms of abuses.
