Hon Hilarion Etong, Senior Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly has in very strong terms condemned violence perpetuated on children across the country. He was speaking during a special plenary session on abuse and violence meted on children 16 June 2021.
The advocacy session aimed at raising awareness on actions to safeguard children who victims of violence as part of activities to mark the commemoration of the 31st edition of the Day of the African Child under the theme “Protecting every child from violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse: a priority for the Cameroonian government”.
Hilarion Etong said violence on children has alarming proportions with cases of abuse, maltreatment, neglect and exploitation becoming very common and perpetrated by those who are meant to take care of the children.
Hilarion Etong reiterated that the special plenary session was not meant only to grasp and understand how children are victims of violence and exploitation, but also to culminate in the adoption of resolutions and recommendations that could lead to the creation of a better framework that caters for children’s welfare.
He said such inexplicable act of violence perpetrated against the children, does not take into account age, sex, social background, milieu and level of education as it is carried out in family circles, school milieu and the community. This he said has forced children to developed deviant behaviours with many increasingly becoming violent in trying to help themselves.
Hilarion Etong, there is the need to break the silence and report the violence that children are subjected to on a daily basis, decry any amicable settlement initiated by adults to the detriment of the child whose rights have been grossly abused, report cases of child exploitation for the benefit of adults and which are detrimental to the child’s welfare, report cases of neglected and abandoned children who are forced to work like adults when they still need to receive guidance from their parents among others.
The two-phase event focused on coming up with recommendations aimed at calling everybody to break the silence and report any violence meted on children, while also creating a better framework that caters for children’s welfare, and ensures that children are free from physical, psychological and mental violence.
It brought together partners including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Plan International Cameroon and other development partners who, seized the opportunity to highlight their multifaceted support in the search for appropriate solutions to the issues faced by socially vulnerable persons in general, and children in particular. Different ministries also used the session to present problems faced by children and how these issues could be handled at their level.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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