The United Nations Children’s Program (UNICEF) has expressed alarm in a report it has just published showing a 33% increase in cases of gender-based violence over the last three years. This report is appreciated by NGOs and lawyers who denounce a lack of legal action.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Brazzaville, Loicia Martial
This Sunday afternoon, Mycoeur Bakissi, from the African Network of Adolescents and Youth in Population and Development, left his church in the sixth arrondissement of Brazzaville with a copy of the Unicef report which he looked through before the prayer session. . There is no shortage of comments. “ This report fills the gap that existed in terms of statistics, data on gender-based violence and especially children “, he notes.
This report, condensed from investigations carried out in hospitals, police stations and even reception centers, shows that in 2021 alone, more than 3,300 cases of sexual violence were recorded, an increase of 33%. compared to the previous period. “ What struck me a lot in this study were the cases of incest. There were many cases of incest. There were parents who raped their daughters and got them pregnant “, denounced Cynthia Acka-Douabelé, head of education and protection at Unicef.
Roméo Mbengou, a lawyer, deplores the fact that cases of gender-based violence are often settled amicably. “ It is often claimed that legal proceedings take too long. However, by doing like this [le règlement à l’amiable, NDLR]we do not take into account the girl who is the victim of rape », he points out.
However, the Congo adopted the Mouebara Law in 2022, which condemns violence against women to penalties ranging from one to two years in prison. But its application remains marginal, deplore the associations.