Mozambique police arrest man accused of defiling 30 minors in a week
Latest Demographic and Health Survey in Mozambique (DHS 2011) shows that more than 37 per cent of Mozambican women suffer physical and sexual violence in their lifetime.
What you need to know:
- A 28-year-old man is suspected of defiling 30 children in Mozambique last week.
- He reportedly committed the acts in the 7 de Abril Quatres in Chimoio City.
Mozambique authorities have arrested a 28-year-old man suspected of defiling 30 children last week.
A statement from the Mozambique Republic Police (PRM) on Tuesday said the man from Manica Province targeted children aged between six and seven years old.
He reportedly committed the acts in the 7 de Abril Quatres in Chimoio City.
The rapist performed the crime while parents were outdoor working. He enticed the victims with money, police said.
Figures from PRM indicate that, on average, Manica Province records two cases of rape per week.
According to the latest Demographic and Health Survey in Mozambique (DHS 2011), more than 37 per cent of Mozambican women suffer physical and sexual violence in their lifetime. Sexual offenders can be jailed for as many as 12 years if found guilty, something activists say is too lenient.
Criminal code
Underreporting remains a huge issue in Mozambique, as it does around the world. Global data suggests only four in ten women who experience violence seek help of any sort, and of these, only one in ten appeals to the police.
But Mozambique has come under fire in the past for requiring that victims of sexual assault or their guardians make official complaint before investigations are followed. The country was also forced to delete clauses on the criminal code which had allowed sexual offenders to escape criminality if they married victims. Activists argued it amounted to endorsing rape in marriages.
