Parliament on Tuesday approved of the Committee on Human Rights and Gender's inquiry report on child sexual abuse.
The report was compiled to glean the extent of state negligence and assess the level of rampant child sexual abuse in the country. The report was approved by a unanimous decision from the 74 MPs present at the sitting.
The committee report, now published on the parliament's official website, found that, over the past 15 years, only 390 out of 3,100 child abuse cases reached a conviction.
Furthermore, the report noted considerable delays in both police investigations and court procedure, stating that 70.46 percent of concluded cases from the last 15 years took more than a year to reach conclusion.
The committee's report asserted that the delays are an "impediment to securing justice for child victims of sexual violence and further endangers the victims as well as other children".
The report goes on to state that there was no database or system in place for state institutions to collaborate on cases of child sexual abuse.
In the aftermath of the recent sexual violence case involving a two-year-old toddler, her grandfather and great-grandfather, several other victims and concerned parties are coming forward.
Although the aforementioned case sparked widespread outrage and harsh criticism against the government, public sentiment has remained focused on authorities’ negligence and their failure to take appropriate measures to curb sexual violence against children.
The former Minister of Gender, Family and Social Services, Shidhatha Shareef also tendered her resignation on February 6, following mounting pressure over negligence in cases of child sexual abuse and paedophilia, including allegations against the former Disability Ambassador Ahmed Hishan.
It recently came to light that the gender ministry was aware of allegations against Hishan but did not take any action. The issue surfaced after Hishan appealed a Family Court verdict denying him the legal guardianship of a 19-year-old youth.
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