Child prostitution is on the rise in Yei, sources have told Radio Tamazuj.
“There are small lodges in the town used by other people carrying out sexual business on young children. As a mother I always feel pain and I don’t know where the government is looking. These young girls are supposed to be at school and help us tomorrow” Charity Dudu, a citizen of Yei told Radio Tamazuj in an interview.
Dudu said a high HIV/AIDS rate could effect the health of children in the region, and said the government should crack down on hotels and lodges that have become “umbrellas” for child exploitation.
The chairperson for the Yei women’s association Roseline Nadia advised parents to monitor and provide basic needs of young women so they could avoid attending “social amenities such as video halls and night clubs that exposes them to sexual danger,”
Nadia urged the government to set up strong laws on child protection.
“These children are our future and if we don’t open our eyes then the future will be doomed” she said.
A government official for women’s health called for the passing of a proposed law that protects children from prostitution.
“We are calling on the law to be passed and policy makers to enforce laws that protect children from exploitation,” the official said.