Minister warns SGBV culprits

GENDER Minister Elizabeth Phiri has warned of stern action against women who shield their husbands and partners in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Cases (SGBV)involving children. Ms Phiri said it was saddening that some women opted to protect marriages at the expense of their children being defiled and abused by either their husbands or intimate partners. She said most defilement cases happen in homes by known family members but it was unfortunate that such cases were only reported when a child was impregnated or infected with diseases. The minister said this in a statement made available to the Daily Nation yesterday. She was reacting to the recent report of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly defiled and impregnated by her step father in Lusaka`s Mtendere township. She said it was unlikely that a child could be undergoing emotional and physical trauma without being noticed by a mother who lives under the same roof. “A child who is abused can easily be noticed especially by a mother but some women tend to keep quiet for fear of losing their partners and marriages,” she said. Ms Phiri also retrieved the girl from the abusive home and took her to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for treatment. She also visited a 14-year-old girl at UTH who was recently defiled and beaten by unknown criminals. She said the recent report by the Police on defilement was heart breaking as 664 cases were recorded in the third quarter of 2018 compared to 416 in the third quarter last year. She has urged communities to ensure that they report SGBV cases soon as they occur so that in case of diseases children could be treated early. The minister called on relevant stakeholders to interrogate the reasons behind the increase so as to establish interventions to be implemented to fight SGBV cases. She said the increase in numbers could either be attributed to more people reporting cases or that the incidences are on the upswing and it was imperative that various stakeholders came together and study the matter. The minister urged the women movements to consider embarking on sensitising communities on how to identify perpetrators of sexual violence and report any suspicious persons to the police.