Bangui, 17 January, 2020 / 2:42 am (ACI Africa).
The Church in the Central African Republic (CAR) has admitted to incidences of sexual abuse of minors and has responded by taking steps toward the safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons by setting up a commission to examine cases of abuse.
“The situation of minors remains worrying, especially with the economic crisis that the country is going through,” the Secretary of the Commission on Minors in the CAR, Fr Blaise Narcisse Kougomatchi has been quoted as telling the news agency adiac-infos in an interview Wednesday, January 15.
Referencing the minors within the context of economic hardships, Fr Kougomatchi added, “This situation makes them vulnerable and easy to fall into the trap of sexual abuse if they find themselves in the presence of a predator who sees an opportunity to exploit this.”
He continued, “Our country is going through a great crisis right now. Many of our children have become vulnerable, and there are some who have been abandoned or have lost their parents and are left in the sites of the homeless displaced.”
“Since the beginning of this crisis and especially in the face of this situation, the fate of children remains worrying and we draw the attention of the Executive to help these children who have lost their parents and who are at the mercy of nature,” Fr Kougomatchi observed.
