Pupils in Chadiza district have asked government to carry out more sensitisation campaigns on the evil and barbaric acts of child abuse in the country.
Thandiwe Phiri, a Grade 7 pupil at Chadiza Primary School says children’s lives are at a greater risk due to escalating levels of early child marriages and defilement cases being recorded in the country.
Thandiwe says that government should ensure that the perpetrators of child abuse are given stiffer punishment than ever before so that children’s rights are protected.
Speaking during the Day of an African Child commemoration in Chadiza, Thandiwe also asked government to scale up the procurement of text books in schools.
And speaking earlier, Chadiza District Education Board Secretary Misozi Mwenya says pupils must be allowed to exercise their rights while being taught in schools to be responsible because rights go with responsibilities.
Meanwhile parents in Katete district have been urged to report child defilement cases to the police rather than making the perpetrators pay money.
District Commissioner Joseph Makukula says that it is unfortunate that some parents do not report some defilement cases to the police adding that certain parents are involved in abusing their own children in their homes.
The district commissioner said this when he was addressing some Katete residents who joined the rest of Africa in commemorating the day of an African Child.
He says the day of an African child was commemorated to realise the value of children in societies and to ensure that their rights are upheld.