Campaign Co - Patroness
“Society Lost Notion of Shame!” – Graça Machel, Patroness of the Regional Campaign Against Child Abuse.
Why this campaign? Because many children are abused by relatives and neighbours. We know that, but nothing is done! In the press, the cases are reported sporadically and, to an extent, described in a manner that violates the victim. It’s necessary that we assume the responsibility as a society, as families, as individuals. This campaign is just the beginning, it should not be a campaign like many others, but the beginning of a process where everyone is really committed to do something concrete.
This campaign will be launched due to this motive, but as the start of a permanent fight whose end we don’t know…. I can add, until we have a society where our children are not abused. We’ve reached a stage where we see terrible things happening, we feel pity, but we fold our arms and we go on. In Mozambique, children are stolen, sold and bought, in the streets child prostitution is on the increase and we as people, as human beings do not react, we turn our face to these horrors and at night, locked safely in our homes, we still manage to sleep soundly. We don’t react to all these infractions! The time of slavery is over! How can we tolerate that children are sold and bought as slaves? For how long can the society tolerate this? What do we, as a society, feel about these cases of child abuse?
The Regional Campaign Against Child Abuse will attempt to strengthen the human capacity of understanding the phenomenon, better characterise and map it in the territories of each country, because there can be differences intrinsic to each area.
This human capacity will encompass other sectors, not only of governing, but of the civil society, which will enable us to better define the activities to carry out in relation to special abuses and geographical areas where the incidence shows itself with more gravity. On the whole, we’ll start an awareness programme. As we obtain concrete data, the awareness process will get an improved justification since it will be possible to show a picture and specific cases that help to strengthen the role of the family, of the community and general society responsibilities. In Southern Africa, the cases of child abuse have been appearing with lots of frequency and certain sophistication.
The Campaign appears at a moment when the countries of the region of Southern Africa are going through an alarming situation, mainly as regards the acceptance of child abuse as something normal and over which nothing can be done because it’s caused by the poverty facing these countries. Poverty can never be justified for the acceptance of barbaric and un-human acts because any society should ask itself whether it is sane, looking deeply on the manner in which it treats children, the elderly and people with disabilities, who are the most vulnerable, least protected and more subject to abuse, regardless of the poverty that it faces.
The press must start reporting cases of child abuse, making follow-ups, showing to the public that child abuse is a reality in our country. Courts must show sensibility in dealing with cases of child abuse and there is a need for creating effective mechanisms capable of dealing duly with these cases, and there has to be an awareness activity targeting judges and other representatives of the justice system in the country.