(MENAFN- The Post) MASERU -FORTY-THREE percent of all female children under the age of 18 have experienced sexual, physical and emotional violence in Lesotho.
Among males, the figure rises to 59 percent.
The shocking statistics are contained in a report titled, Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, which was released in Maseru yesterday.
The report, which was compiled after a two-year study, shows that youths between the ages of 18 and 24 and adolescents aged from 13 to 17 years generally experience violence.
It said among adolescents, 27.8 percent females were victims of sexual, physical or emotional violence while 29.9 percent of males reported all three forms of violence but mainly physical violence.
The victims were mostly those with disability and those that grew up witnessing domestic violence.
The Social Development Child Protection Manager, ''Mantoa Sejake, said some children grow up in unhealthy environments and do not find it wrong to pick bad traits from parents and relatives.
''They understood that it was a normal way of living and this was so wrong,'' Sejake said.
She said most males who abused females either physically or sexually did not attend school or had little exposure to education.
''School attendance is vital to males as well for better understanding of life,'' she said.
Sejake said 14.5 percent of adolescent females were victims of sexual violence while males made five percent.
She said 10 percent of the victims were abused by their neighbours, nine percent by friends while 58 percent of youths were violated by their intimate partners.
''Most were abused by people they knew and very few cases pointed to strangers,'' she said.
She said most incidents occurred at the perpetrators'' homes.
''It should occur often for people to know that child abuse reporting is mandatory as per the Children''s Protection Act,'' she said.
She said physical violence from adolescent males was 27.1 percent and 21.1 percent on females.
She said among youths 32.9 percent of females suffered some form of physical violence while one in two males were victims.
''Males still suffered more physical violence than females.''
She said perpetrators were parents, relatives and caregivers in both youths and adolescents.
''Most children were violated from 6 to 11 years,'' she said.
Sejake added: ''Communication has to be healthy between children and parents to avoid emotional violence.''
She said the consequences pertaining any of the violence among those aged between 13 and 17 years was mental distress, hurting themselves intentionally, suicidal thoughts, STIs and dropouts from school due to violence.
As a way forward, she said the National Action Plan will assist in addressing these problems prioritising those that need immediate attendance.
''Parents and caregivers should learn that domestic violence doesn''t help anyone but rather destroy children as they grow up with bad attitudes.''
She added that ''we have to find ways of helping parents with positive parenting.''
Social Development Principal Secretary ''Mantšenki Sekete-Nqhalane said the study followed a 2015 review which showed that there was a dire need for a broad survey.
''It revealed that we were unable to address several issues fully,'' she said.
''Mapule Motsopa
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