{Police in Huye district, on December 14, reached out to students from different schools currently in their holidays in Huye, with messages on how to live a positive life free from narcotic drugs.}
While speaking to the holidaymakers, Inspector of Police (IP) IP Rose Ndikumana, the head of the Rwanda National Police (RNP) Gender Desk in Huye, explained that most of the family conflicts are ignited by parents and teenagers, who abuse drugs, citing consumption of illicit brew and smoking cannabis as lead causes.
“We have encountered cases, although very few, where girls who are under the influence of narcotic drugs engage in sexual acts and end up with unwanted pregnancies and dropping out of school. As well, some boys have dropped out of school due to drug addiction and some have become wrongdoers in communities indulging in theft, idlers, among others,” IP Ndikumana told the students.
She noted that abusing drugs further put users especially the youth, at risk of contracting STDs such as HIV/AIDS through unprotected sex.
“Some of your colleagues have become victims of gender based violence at the hands of drug abusers and have ended up being raped or defiled, beaten and women or mothers assaulted by their husbands under the influence of drugs,” she added.
Rwanda National Police established the Anti-GBV and Child Protection Unit in 2005 with an aim of embarking on prevention, sensitization campaigns, empowering the vulnerable and address cases related to GBV and child abuse.
With combined effort on the ground, figures indicate that GBV cases have reduced by 10.6 percent in the last four years; from 2527 cases in 2010 to 2258 cases in 2014. Those cases included defilement rape and physical abuse.
Last year alone, 271 women were battered by their husbands while 22 men were assaulted by their spouses.
IP Ndikumana urged them to refrain from using such drugs, sensitize their colleagues with the habit to abandon it and partner with police to report the dealers who want to involve them in such acts.
The students were urged to form anti-crime clubs to help them put their ideas together on how to fight crimes, and to call police on toll-free lines, 3512 and 116 for GBV and child help line respectively.
Sister Marcy Mukasekuru, the director of Compagnie des Filles de Charité, a charitable organization that supports some of the students, thanked RNP for mentoring the students to live a positive and focused life.
He urged the students to heed the call and be agents of crime prevention in their respective communities and schools.
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