Nurturing vital, says Dr Ambi

THE increasing number of sexual abuse of minors reported in Papua New Guinea is a concern and it goes back to the upbringing of the perpetrators, an official says.
Directorate of Social Change and Mental Health acting director Dr Uma Ambi said there were many ways of looking at the causes of such abuse.
She said to perform the act abuse on minors depended on ones choices, the person’s choices which could be influenced by other activities the perpetrator engaged in such as watching or viewing pornographic materials.
“It always depends on the person’s (perpetrator) upbringing which includes his or her home and family, peers, culture and the environment,” Dr Ambi said.
“It may also depend on the person’s sexual desires.
“Some choose to do that because they have issues in their upbringing.”
Dr Ambi said the perpetrators in these abuse cases were bad people (man or woman).
“The person (perpetrator) is sick, physically sick or psychologically sick,” she said.
“These are people with psychological and personality disorders.”
Dr Ambi said these people were not mentally ill because people with mental illness could not do that.
“It has nothing to do with mental illness – it’s to do with their personality and their intensions (motives) and what they want to gain out of doing this,” she said.
Dr Ambi said it all came down to morality and a person’s principles.
She said ultimately each family had to take the responsibility and parents needed to ensure that children were raised in the right way.