Southern Province security meeting sets tough measures against child abuse

{The Southern Province security meeting held on June 28 in Huye District laid stringent measures to maintain “Zero tolerance” in fighting and preventing child abuse and gender based violence.}

The meeting which was graced by the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Dr. Diana Gashumba and the Governor of the Southern Province Alphonse Munyentwari, concluded with a commitment to two vices through prevention, mobilizing and supporting National Women Council committees at the grassroots level.

It was also attended by all those in charge of gender from the sector to the provincial level.

Addressing the meeting, Minister Gashumba noted that strengthened collective measures between security organs, local leaders and the citizenry will serve as a platform to identify and respond effectively to issues children and women face.

“Despite having measures in place, children and women are still being deprived of their rights, which leaves us all challenged as leaders. If we don’t act now, the consequences will be far reaching to the country,” said Minister Gashumba.

She noted that due to the negligence of some parents, their children have ended up dropping out of school, flood the streets, they have become casual labourers in exploitative activities in homes, mining concessions like stone quarry and in tea plantations.

Domestic and Gender based violence, on the other hand, she observed, contributes to poverty in the affected families and sometimes results into death and instills conflicts between children as well, who are caught between the lines to support either parent.

She appealed to the leaders and security organs to support the National Women Council and their representatives at the Village and Cell to fight and prevent gender based violence.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Francis Nkwaya, the Southern Region Police Commander, during the same meeting, gave a presentation on the security status in the region in the past two months, major causes of crime and the adopted measures to counter them.

He highlighted crimes related to illicit drugs, gender based violence and theft as some of the prevalent crimes in the province, but noted that the same crimes have tremendously decreased compared to other previous periods due to the strengthened community policing activities that include awareness, targeted operations, community night patrols, community policing committees, working with other security organs and local leaders.

“This partnership has eased fast flow of information and subsequent response to intercept and apprehend criminals, recover stolen items and in many occasions, prevent a crime from happening,” ACP Nkwaya said.