60 defilement cases registered monthly

GULU. At least 60 cases of defilement are registered monthly at Gulu Central Police Station in Gulu District, according to police reports.
Majority of the cases are aggravated defilement involving young girls of 14 years and below.

“We normally receive more than 60 cases of defilement in month and they are reported from within the district,” Mr James Asubu, the officer in charge of investigations at the police station, said.
The district gender-based violence focal point person, Ms Christine Akumu, told Saturday Monitor in an interview on Wednesday that a total of 733 defilement cases were recorded last year in Gulu.
Ms Akumu said majority of those affected were girls between the age of 14 years and below.

“Defilement cases are on the rise and this is unbecoming. We have areas within the district that includes Gulu Municipality, Bobi, Koch Ongako and Unyama sub-counties where many young girls have been reportedly defiled,” she said.
Ms Akumu said the girls normally fall prey to defilers during market days, discos and funeral rites where they are exposed .
“The fight against defilement is being dented by some parents who deliberately decide not to report the cases to police for fear of reprimanding their children before the law or pressures from the defilers,” she said.
Last week, the Gulu Resident High Court Judge, Justice Margaret Mutonyi, raised concerns over the rising cases of girls being defiled by men living with HIV/Aids, adding that she was currently presiding over 40 defilement cases.

Risky. The Gulu District gender-based violence focal point person says girls fall prey to defilers during market days, discos and funeral rites.

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