Panama child sexual abuse cases rocket

Cases of sexual abuse of minors are rocketing in Panama with 1,363  in the first two months of 2018, more than half the total for the whole of the previous year, while the government does not allocate funds to treat victims of the epidemic.

In 2017 there were 2,218 cases in which minors were victims of some sexual crime, including, rape, libidinous acts, and harassment, an average of six cases a day.

Of the total, 2,092 victims were girls and 126 boys. Not included are 27 cases awaiting the report of the Institute of Legal Medicine.

The institutions responsible for serving the victims of the crimes admit that the Government does not have an exclusive budget for preventive care and eradication of sexual crimes against children says a La Prensa report

The heads of the Ministry of Social Development (Mides) and the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Senniaf), confirmed to La Prensa that they currently have no resources to give integral treatment to minors who are sexually abused.

Yazmín Cárdenas  who heads Senniaf), and said that annually they allocate $ 700,000 for projects and programs aimed at the prevention, promotion, and protection of the rights of children,

resources that come out of their $6.9 million budget, The official acknowledged that they do not have a specific line for the treatment of sexual abuse of minors.although its website  says Senniaf has, according to its website, a  program for  sexual violence against children through which they provide “comprehensive and specialized attention to both the victims and their families, with … coordination between non-government and government institutions “.

The Public Ministry MP attributes the surge in complaints at the start of the year to the awareness campaign undertaken with the entry into force of the accusatory criminal system urging the population to report illicit behavior throughout the country.

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