Women and girls in emergency-prone areas are being subjected to various human rights abuses.
Deputy Inspector General of Police responsible for administration, Duncan Mwapasa, said this when he presided over a strategy and planning meeting for prevention of violence against women and children in Blantyre.
During the meeting, officers, who were drawn from the Southern and Eastern regions, were analysing their performance in the areas of child and women rights protection in 2016. They also drew their strategy for 2017.
Mwapasa said women and girls are vulnerable to various forms of abuse, especially during emergencies, due to high levels of poverty, poor access to land and limited opportunities for income generation.
He said the police are working with communities in 10 districts affected by the El Nino-triggered drought the districts include Balaka, Machinga Phalombe and Chikwawa to end the abuses.
“We have been receiving reports that some people distributing relief items in these areas are demanding sex from female beneficiaries. As police, we cannot sit idle in the face of these abuses. We are coordinating our efforts to teach the women and children to report such abuses,” he said.
Mwapasa, therefore, called on the police officers to advance the cause of child and women rights.
“The girls are the foundation of the country. As police, we have to take issues of their rights to heart so that they grow in a conducive environment and become productive citizens of the country,” Mwapasa said.
According to Mwapasa, the police, through victim support units, recorded 13,824 cases of abuse last year.
Leave a Reply