By Erick Nyayiera
The children department in Siaya sub-county has raised concern over increased violation of children rights in the region.
A children’s officer Janet Nyakwaka said children have become victims of circumstances especially after domestic squabbles between their parents.
They have found cases where children are assaulted and sometimes seriously injured by their parents.
“The majority of parents and more specifically the mothers often avenge their anger on children whenever there is a family dispute,” said Nyakwaka.
She said they have embarked on a sensitization programme on parental skills to teach members of the community on child abuse and good parenting to combat the vice.
Nyakwaka said they have been training child protection volunteers (CPVs) to help cascade the information down to the villages.
She added that they have been liaising with the chiefs to organize public barazas to teach members of the community on the parental skills through locational advisory councils where the CPV sits as the secretary.
That has tremendously helped in containing the situation even though the cases are still many within the community.
Similarly, Concerns have also been raised over continued increase in cases of teenage pregnancies in the county.
Siaya County Assembly Member for Central Alego Ward Leonard Oriaro says that it is quite unfortunate that cases of teenage pregnancies have increased despite government efforts in trying to deal with the vice.
He cited statistics which indicate that in his ward, at least 29 girls aged between 9 to 14 years are pregnant.
The same report states that over 300 of them aged between 15 to 19 years have also faced the same predicament.
The county assembly representative who was speaking during the commissioning of a modern nursery classroom at Pap Boro Primary School urged the community to take lead in protecting their children.
He blamed laxity by law enforcement agencies for the failure to fight against teenage pregnancies.
He also warned those defiling underage children that they will be arrested and brought to book.
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