PAN classifies phenomenon of abuse and sexual exploitation of minors and women as "abominable" and "intolerable"

This statement was made, this morning, at the opening ceremony of the Political Dialogue on the abuse and sexual exploitation of minors and women in Cape Verde.

The event is the responsibility of the European Union in partnership with the Ministry of Family, Inclusion and Social Development and the National Assembly and aims, above all, to analyze the situation in Cape Verde, identify gaps and challenges in the implementation of existing laws, as well as envision ways of intervention and concrete proposals to prevent and combat these crimes.

In his opening speech, the President of the National Assembly clearly expressed his concern regarding these phenomena, first of all, “undesirable and reprehensible in all respects, such as the abuse and sexual exploitation of minors and women”.

Austelino Correia made a foray not only into some of the preambles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to show how important respect for human dignity is, but also recalled the statistics on this human scourge that is increasing, worrying and happening on a global scale.

“The situation in Africa, Latin America and Asia is extremely serious (…). In Europe the situation is equally alarming (…). This may mean that the scale of the problem is greater, considering the fact that the majority of ill-treatment and physical and sexual abuse takes place within the family and concealed by privacy, dependency ties and the internal organization of families”, said Correia, adding, on the other hand, that "the situation is usually aggravated in environments of poverty, family breakdown, political and armed conflicts, or social insecurity and institutional weakness."

In Cape Verde, despite being relatively controlled, the President of the Parliament considers that the situation reaches worrying contours. “The sexual exploitation, physical, psychological and emotional abuse that many of our children suffer is absolutely intolerable. We cannot accept, for example, that in 2002, in a small population like ours, with less than 500 thousand inhabitants, there were more than 220 reported cases of sexual abuse of children under 18 years of age. And, much less, that there are 9 children between the ages of 0 and 3 years old”, said Austelino Correia based on ICCA data.

Correia defends the strengthening of clear and effective policies and measures aimed at solving the problem, but also advocates that everyone is called upon to do their part: political decision-makers, public authorities, families, civil society, the private sector , the media, schools, churches.

On the part of the Parliamentary House, Austelino Correia guaranteed that the institution he directs is a first-line combatant and partnership.