Yanis urges stakeholders to unite, fight child abuse

CHURCHES, police, courts and community leaders must work together as a united force to help end or curb child abuse in Papua New Guinea, country child and family services director Simon Yanis says.
“We must work together to have any chance of ending violence on women and children,” he said.
Yanis said this at the opening of a new office for child and family services in Enga last week.
He said Enga was the first province in the country to launch the programme and office under the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015, to address the issues affecting children.
“The Act gave children a voice to address their views and concerns,” he said.
“We are seeing many children on the streets, some begging while others are doing nothing without any hope.
“Some are forced into labour while many are not be at school because their rights have been deprived and abused by their parents and guardians who are supposed to look after them.”
Yanis said children had every right to go to school, sleep under a shelter and have a parent to live with.
“They have a life and they are our future generation,” he said.