In Mon State, the sexual abuse of children often involves family members or those who are close to the child’s family, according to Daw Khaing Khaing Leh, Chair of the Mon State Parliament’s Women’s and Children’s Rights Committee.
“70 percent of a child rape cases [involve] those who are familiar to the children while a stranger is very rare. It is very difficult for a stranger to take a child out of school and put the child on a motorcycle or a car. The children will immediately react or shout if they are approached by strangers. Often [sexual abuse cases] happen when perpetrators are close to a child so that it is easy for the child to be convinced,” she said.
According to the data, children between the ages of 7 to 13 are more vulnerable to abuse. Perpetrators are often an uncle or a father. Daw Khaing Khaing Leh pointed out that in the past, people had limited knowledge of where to make a report or where to ask for help. For this reason, the prevalence of child sexual abuse was not well known or documented.
Social stigmas regarding persons who have experiened sexual abuse, sexual violence and/or harassment discourages most children and women who are the victims, to disclose or report their experiences.
“When we talk about domestic violence, it includes physical and sexual violence as well as psychological violence. Violence against children is now increasing. Child sexual abuse is becoming more common in our society,” according to Mi Ah Mon Bloa, a participant of a 16-day eliminating gender-based violence awareness campaign.
According to the Chair of the Mon State Parliament Women and Children rights Committee, more than 30 educational sessions called “Body Prevention Awareness” have been conducted at different schools in Mon State.
From January to November 2019, 69 out of 90 rape cases involved children in Mon State. In 2018 the number of reported cases involving sexual abuse of children was 57, according to the Mon State Police office.
