Child violence related cases appalling, survey shows

Cases of violence against children in the country are on the increase, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children in only eight districts for less than three months has revealed. It has been learnt. The Ministry’s spokesperson Erasto Chirongo said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that, his ministry has received a total of 1,146 calls from well wishers in the country that revealed acts of violence against children through an established special communication network which was set up in May this year. He named such cases are together with raping, burning them on allegations of theft leveled against them, abandonment which makes them lack parental child care, humiliated under different forms of torture and other anti-social behaviors and sometimes killed. He said that, such humiliations to a greater extent has been affecting child’s development, their growth and sometimes causing psychological effects among the vulnerable groups in their day to day’s life. In January this year, the Ministry signed an agreement to work in collaboration with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called C-Sema that helped setting up a communication network No. 116 known as Child Help Line. He further noted that, the network which was officially launched in May this year was specifically meant to uncover the increased inhumane acts against children which are growing at an alarming rate in most parts in the country. For the start, the network was stationed to work as a pilot project in eight districts in the country who worked closely with the authorities of the district councils and municipal authorities of a concerned area. The districts are Temeke, Ilala, Kinondoni, Kasulu, Hai, Magu, Bukoba rural, Musoma urban. “The major objective of launching the communication network No. 116 is to enable children and the Tanzanian community as a whole to report any violence acts being shown to children and report such humiliating cases to the responsible organs to ensure that children receives their basic rights for their security” he said. However, he said that, the network has shown a positive success from people’s response that felt with pity over children by revealing violence acts against them, and added that, such kind of response has showed the importance of the legal assistance which has hastened the obligations of issuing quick services to the affected children in various parts in the country. In view of this, the ministry has however, appreciated the move by the media in reporting of such cases whereby such incidences have also enabled the security organs such as the police in collaboration with the security committees at district level to arrest the perpetrators in most notorious communities. Their move has helped reduce the habit. The statistics shows great success over the use of the network No. 116 whereby in the first week immediately after its inauguration, the ministry received about 64 calls, in the second week it received 96 calls and up to now, there is an increase of about 939 calls to be received within a period of one month. According to Chingoro, such a great response of the people as seen from the monthly calls, reveal that, there is a positive result in future as many people would continue reporting such cases would likely help the government to stop for ever notorious acts done against innocent children.