A staggering number of reported child abuse cases are piling up at the offices of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGEPESW).

Deputy Minister Bernadette Jagger says her ministry continues to collaborate with stakeholders, particularly the police and the prosecution, to ensure that victims receive the required care.

Within its limited human resources structure, Jagger says her ministry has managed to second social workers to the gender-based violence protection units in the |Khomas , Kavango East, Oshana, and Kunene regions.

Cases of children's rights violations in other regions, Jagger says, are dealt with by the ministry's social workers at the regional level.
 

Although the ministry continues to raise awareness about the importance of reporting child abuse to police and social workers, she says the scourge remains on the rise, and worryingly so.

"Everyday the people are there full in our ministry; this and this has happened; my husband has done abc to my daughter, my own daughter. During the last financial year, our social workers attended to a total of 779 cases of child abuse. 779 cases in one financial year. Child neglect, child abandonment, child sexual abuse, and children in need of shelter, of which 282 were boys and then 497 were female."

Regions with the highest reported cases of violence against children are: |Khomas with, where 334 cases were reported this year; Hardap, with 64; Kavango East, with 63; Oshikoto, with 57; and Ohangwena, with 43 cases.
 

She says the ministry, along with key stakeholders, have developed standard operating procedures on GBV, violence against children, and human trafficking.
 

Jagger added that coordinated training for social workers, police officers, justice professionals, and traditional leaders is conducted to ensure quality services to GBV survivors.