Alleged abuse worries community

 By Larry Andrew

PEOPLE living at the Papuan compound in Lae are concerned about the health of a young boy, who they have taken to a clinic to be treated for wounds on his body.

They believe that the wounds may have been caused by abuse at home.

A policeman living in the compound recently raised the alarm when he saw the boy tied outside the family home at night.

People living in the community took him to the Milfordhaven Clinic next morning to be treated.

No comment could be obtained from Lae police. 

But a social welfare and child protection coordinator who asked not to be identified said the matter should be reported to the Family and Sexual Violence unit at the police station and at the social welfare office located inside the provincial government premises. 

She said the recently passed Lukautim Pikinini Act failed to clearly state the penalty for people abusing children.

She said child abuse was a serious crime and parents should  know that. She said child abuse comes in different forms. 

“Child abuse is a crime against children in the forms of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and emotional or verbal abuse,” she said.

It is understood that the boy is around 11 years old. 

Neighbours suspect that his parents living in the Tais settlement have been abusing him for some time.

The Lukautim Pikinini Act protects the rights of children.