The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare in the Kavango East Region is inundated with cases of child marriages and rape involving children as young as 13.
Senior Social Worker Aurelia Mukundu says child marriage is fueled by harmful cultural practices and poverty.
Mukundu was speaking at the celebration of the Day of the Namibian Child at Martin Ndumba Secondary School in the Mukwe Constituency.
She said many cases of child rape go unreported, making it difficult to curb the abuse of children.
The culture of attaching girls to older men as their future husbands, Mukundu believes, creates room for exploitation of the children. "Some of the children cannot come to school because they have that fear.
Someone has trapped them. They are being married at a very young age, and this poor child has to stay home, she has to cook, you have to wash for someone. You become a wife at a very young age, and these are some of the things that you go through as children.
Some of the children, you are experiencing a lot of things. Rape is very common. We receive so many cases of children being raped by adults, by older men, so these are things we do not want to happen to children" she added.
Nathalia Siyunge, who is the principal at Martin Ndumba Secondary School, said abuse of children is a serious concern for her school, which is one of those affected by teenage pregnancy as a result of rape and early marriages. "Since January, we have had plus or minus 15 children that were recorded to be pregnant and some of them are now nursing. This is really a challenge because, after some time, these learners have to disappear for a month or even a week so that they can breastfeed. This is affecting their education so much that it is so worrisome for a Namibian child".
One of the most concerning cases the school management is dealing with is that of a 13-year-old girl who was impregnated by a man claiming to be her husband.
To help the children, life skills teachers and social workers try their best to counsel the children who go through such abuse, and some cases are handed over to the police.
The Day of the Namibian Child seeks to create awareness of issues affecting children and how to eliminate such abuses.