Parents in Nyamira have been urged to support stakeholders to address the increased cases of child abuse.
Nyamira South subcounty children’s officer, Billy Adera said parents of abused children are a big hindrance to the process of seeking justice.
Adera said this must be changed to enable them to win the fight against increasing child abuse cases.
“Abusers of children are people very well known to them and parents or caregivers don't give crucial information about the perpetrators because they are close family members,” she said.
“They fear that if they report them, they will break family ties and relationships, at the expense of the innocent vulnerable children.”
Adera said in the past six months, reported cases of defilement, sodomy, neglect, drugs and substance abuse, and physical brutality are increasing at an alarming rate.
He said parents are key players in assisting law enforcement officers to arrest the culprits but they keep that information top secret and you cannot tell who did the heinous act.
Adera said many pending cases involving children take long before being determined, as perpetrators often evade the prosecution process after compromising family and community members.
“At times caregivers fail to bring the abused children to court giving lame excuses that the child is either in school or sick and these excuses drag the court process delaying justice for abused children,” he said.
Adera said they have been supported by state and non-state actors to provide survivors with psycho-social support, trauma counselling and strengthening programmes for vulnerable families, which are prone to abuse to cushion them against the adverse effects.
“We are working closely with community child protection volunteers who train families on best parenting practices through a structured module to enable parents and caregivers to report child abuse incidents and advise on parenting mechanisms which will prevent children abuse cases,” he said.
“Parents and caregivers in Nyamira should ensure they are on high alert and always know the whereabouts of their children because abusers are just close. Always report cases of abuse to enable lawful prosecution and justice to the victims.”
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
