Africa-Press – Cape verde. Writer and activist Miriam Medina warns of a “worrying situation” of child sexual violence and prostitution in Boa Vista, especially in hotel chains, and calls for action from society.
Statements made this Monday during a conversation with students from the Boa Vista Secondary School, as part of the Literature Week promoted by the City Council.
Based on reports heard in several locations on the island, the activist expresses great concern about cases of children suffering abuse, often ignored by their own families.
“The situation in Boa Vista leaves me with a heavy heart. In just one week on the island, I am really quite worried. I have already given talks to primary and secondary school students and heard several reports of suffering, several emotional wounds that the children carry from home to school”, she says.
The activist mentions cases of children as young as 10 asking questions in the third person, but stresses that, from her experience, she understands that they are talking about themselves.
“They say hypothetically: ‘Imagine that a girl was raped by her stepfather, told her mother and the mother didn’t believe her. In that case, what should the girl do?’”, reported the activist.
Miriam Medina states that the age of the children involved makes the situation even more worrying, and also refers to the overload on teachers, who often have to deal with these issues alone.
“I have spoken to several teachers about the need to have a psychologist at the school. But not a psychologist who also has to teach. Someone who is there just to help the children. Because it is the teachers who end up dealing with all these emotional wounds, with all the problems of various kinds that the students bring from home to school”, she says.
The writer defends the need for “grassroots” work that starts within the family and involves the entire community to eradicate sexual violence and protect the children of Boa Vista and Cape Verde.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, he praises the initiative of the local authority in organizing a multidisciplinary meeting with ICCA and other entities to discuss solutions.
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