According to Ana Dias Lourenço, who spoke this Tuesday at the opening of the Awareness and Training Workshop on Gender Equality, Violence Against Children and Adolescents, and Gender-Based Violence, promoted by the Office of the First Lady and the Ngana Zenza Foundation, in partnership with the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA) and other congregations, of the total number of reports, more than 560 were cases of sexual violence and more than 1890 were cases of physical and psychological violence.
"In the first half of this year, Angola recorded 15,088 cases of reports of violence against children through the SOS Criança hotline, including 564 cases of sexual violence, 6,052 cases of child labor exploitation, and 1,895 cases of physical and psychological violence," reads a government statement, which VerAngola had access to.
On that occasion, the First Lady of the Republic, also president of the Ngana Zenza Foundation, stated that "90 percent of crimes committed occur at home or in church."
Therefore, she considered that everyone's involvement is needed to reverse this situation: "Only through concerted action, involving the government, the justice system, civil society, and especially faith communities, can we truly change this reality."
She added that, currently, "Angolan society also records many cases of men and women who shamelessly use the name of God and the church to commit acts of violence against innocent children and adolescents, including accusations of witchcraft."
"For Ana Dias Lourenço, the presence of representatives from the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA) and other congregations at the workshop reinforces the hope of continuing to rely on the recognized social, spiritual, and moral strength of reputable churches and their leaders, as guardians of the sacredness of life, love, justice, and the denunciation of evil," the note reads.
The aforementioned church representatives were also invited to strengthen "collective protection networks for child victims of violence, both within the family, in churches, and in the community."
CICA and some religious denominations "embraced the cause of the 'We Are All Equal' campaign, under the motto 'Education for Gender Equality and the Fight against Violence against Children and Adolescents in Defense of All Children, Particularly African and Angolan Children."
It should be noted that the 'We Are All Equal' campaign is an initiative of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), "which has set itself the continental challenge of building societies where men and women, boys and girls, can live with full equality of opportunities and rights."
"The focus of this campaign's action plan is to combat sexual, physical, and psychological violence, recognized as one of the most serious problems affecting women and girls in Angola and around the world, influenced by various factors, notably gender," the statement reads.
At the workshop, which concluded this Wednesday, Cape Verdean writer and sociologist Mirian Medina offered her work "Filhas da Violência" to Ana Dias Lourenço, whose book "recounts sexual abuse suffered within the family."
