A thousand soft toys were distributed Monday, November 30 in the main square of Bogota to protest against sexual violence against minors, which affects nearly forty children every day in Colombia.
The toys were placed near signs with slogans such as "
You must denounce the abusers
", on the initiative of the international organization SOS Children's Villages according to which these attacks have increased during containment against the new coronavirus.
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The NGO, present in 136 countries and which has organized this campaign since 2016, also denounces the repetition of these abuses, committed in 80% of cases in the family circle and which result in the child victims being separated from their parents.
"
We must keep the adult abuser away more than the child,
" said Angela Rosales, director of SOS Colombia Children's Village, in a statement.
A woman who participated in this day of mobilization, and whose daughter was sexually assaulted, told AFP on condition of anonymity that the fact of separating a child from his relatives could cause him harm for "
all the life
".
During the symbolic demonstration in Bolivar Square, in front of the parliament, some people called for effective sanctions against the perpetrators of sexual assault.
Colombia voted this year for life imprisonment for rapists and murderers of children and adolescents up to the age of 14, but only 7% of those arrested are ultimately sentenced, according to the NGO.
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According to the Colombian Institute of Child Welfare, 37 minors are victims of sexual violence every day on average in Colombia.
Between January and October, the Colombian legal medicine service recorded 12,874 cases of underage victims presumed to be victims of this type of attack.
The government imposed lockdown from March 25 to the end of August to counter the spread of the pandemic, a period during which authorities reported a significant increase in domestic violence.