Women should not protect husbands who sexually abuse girls: Sioka

ONANDJABA, 31 JULY  – Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Doreen Sioka has called on Namibian women to expose their husbands if they make themselves guilty of sexually abusing girls in their care.
Sioka made the call while addressing the commemoration of World Day against Trafficking in Persons at the Onandjaba settlement in the Omusati Region on Monday.
She said trafficking in persons and violence against children and women have become a thorn in the flesh for Government and Namibians should not take it lightly.
She said if women are aware that their husbands are sexually abusing children, they should report them to the police, stressing that under the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, no bail will be granted to anybody arrested for the abuse and trafficking of children and women.
“Don’t protect a marriage with a man who has pushed your child into sexual intercourse – divorce him,” Sioka said.
She also advised men who undergo abuse at the hands of their partners to report it to the police instead of resorting to killing them.
The Omusati community commemorated World Day against Trafficking in Persons in Okalongo as the constituency has a high number of teenage pregnancies.
Omusati Governor Erginus Endjala told those present the region already recorded 443 teenage pregnancies this year, with Okalongo topping the list with 78 cases.
Many of the girls are aged between 12 and 14 and some of them were impregnated by their teachers, he said.
“Surprisingly, no case was reported to the police,” Endjala stated, adding that by law a person who impregnates a girl under the age of 16 can be prosecuted for statutory rape.
The day was commemorated under the theme ‘Responding to the trafficking of children and young people’.
NAMPA