Health workers at a suburban clinic outside of Lae reported that more than thirty children underthe age of sixteen have been treated for sexual abuse inthe last five months.
Nearly allthe children were abused bytheir own relatives or peoplethey know.
The revelations come just after women all overthe country came togther to call to an end to violence.
Malahang is one of two suburban clinic that handle cases of sexual violence. Many ofthe victims come tothe center run by Doctor without Berders.
Lazarus Karalonan is a nursing officer atthe clinic. He saysthe injuries causedthe girls and boys who have not yet reachedtheir teens are very disturbing.
The OfficerIn Charge, Yawek Gulong, shows a chart withthe datathey collect inthe last five months. He confirms thatthere has been a steady increase inthe reported cases of sexual violence against children underthe age of sixteen.
At this stage, we can’t adequately gagethe extent ofthe problem, but ifthe statistics from Malahang clinic show that thirty children have been sexually abused inthe last five months,the collective figure for Lae city will be much higher.
Health workers saythe problems steamed fromthe availability of drugs and alcohol inthe settlement communities andthe villages. It’s anther problemthe provincial government andthe police have not yet been able to adequately contain.
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