NEWS- Kisoro district Local government has with in less than three months to the climax of 2022-2023 financial year, registered 54.3% of the previous financial year’s child abuse cases.
The district registered a total of 1,255 cases of child abuse in the financial year 2021-2022 compared to 681 cases that have so far been registered.
According to statistics compiled by the Kisoro district senior probation officer Alex Okwaratuha, domestic violence cases take a lead with over 120 cases registered so far while defilement cases have reduced to only four since August last year.
In this financial year, child neglect cases stand at 80, torture at 12, child trafficking 15, child labor 20, early marriages 12, teenage pregnancies 62, abandonment at 30, missing children are 9, children in conflict of the law are 20 while family desertion, denial of parentage, family desertion, temporary custody and denial of access to children cases have multiplied.
Among common cases registered in the last financial year include 250 domestic violence cases, 180 of child neglect, 120 of temporary custody, 83 teenage pregnancies, 78 child abandonment, 69 child desertions, and 66 of child labor, among others.
Okwaratuha asserts that follow-up on most of these cases is still low due to limited funding from the government to facilitate transport and other costs involved adding that there is need for combined efforts by all duty bearers and stakeholders to curb these vices.
Meanwhile, Moria Kampire, the counterpart to Okwaratuha last week revealed that there is a reported increase in alcoholism and family abandonment among science teachers in the district.
Kampire noted that her office is being filled with such cases saying that such cases were not common in her office before salary increments for science teachers.
