Malanje- The Minister of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion, Faustina Alves, on Tuesday in Malanje, reiterated the government’s commitment to create incorporated programmes and policies tending to meet children’s needs.
According to the Government minister, violence against children tends to increase, despite the assumption of the 11 commitments of the child, hence the need to adopt permanent mechanisms to combat it and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Speaking at the central act of the 1st of June, International Children’s Day, she said that the Government, with the advocacy of the National Children’s Institute (INAC), created, in June 2020, the SOS-Childhood service with the aim of receiving complaints of cases involving violence against minors, in person and through the anonymous and free phone line 15015.
Faustina Inglês said that up until the first quarter of this year the country had recorded 195,640 reports related to abandonment of children, accusations of witchcraft, child exploitation, running away from parenthood, murder, kidnapping, child trafficking, sexual abuse and other practices.
Meanwhile, he stressed that there were hidden cases of violence against minors, not reported for fear of retaliation, mainly by women who fear losing their spouses, out of shame, lack of culture and ignorance, hence the need for a continuous fight against the evils that affect children, with the female sex being the most affected, with a percentage of 52.3 percent of cases, according to INAC statistics.
Without giving details, Minister Faustina Alves explained that, as part of the fight against violence against children, the national prevention campaign will run from 16 March 2021 to 16 March 2022.
Source: Angola Press News Agency