Tue, 05 Sep 2017 14:11:58 +0000
By Ketra Kalunga
THE moral decay taking root in children is of great concern and police should take this issue seriously and institute investigations, the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) has said.
“We are greatly disturbed by the occurrence at a house in Lusaka’s Woodlands residential area where teenagers aged between 13 and 18 years gathered to engage in illicit behaviour,” YWCA executive director, Patricia Ndhlovu has said.
Ms Ndhlovu said the development shows the moral decay that is taking root in children, hence the need for parents and the community at large to give proper guidance to children so that they desist from engaging in such shameful acts.
Ms Ndhlovu said it is unfortunate that young children who are future leaders and would-be parents were engaging in such acts and wondered what guidance they would give to their own children.
She added that what is even more disturbing is that the development has come at a time when stakeholders are busy discussing how they could reduce the high HIV prevalence rate in the country.
Ms Ndhlovu said although there were some condoms found on the scene, it cannot be said that they were being used correctly and consistently given that the sex acts were done under the influence of alcohol which could compromise one’s thinking on making decisions regarding sex.
“What is even more disturbing is that, we are discussing the HIV prevalence rate being high in the country. Although there were some condoms found in the house, we are not sure if they were used correctly and consistently because use of alcohol compromised their thinking on making decisions about their sexuality,” Ms Ndhlovu said.
Ms Ndhlovu said as YWCA, they are calling on the law enforcement agencies to take action against the owner of the house by effectively investigating the matter to ascertain whether there was negligence in leasing out the house to the children for a party.
She says if it turns out that indeed there was carelessness, appropriate action should be taken against the owner of the house.
Ms Ndhlovu has since urged parents to the teens to take their children for counselling to establish the root cause of what forced them to engage in illicit behaviour.
“As YMCA, we are open to parents to bring their children for counselling to deal with the root cause of what is forcing them to engage in such activities,” she said.
Meanwhile, police spokesperson, Esther Katongo says officers are still investigative the whereabouts of the owner of the house where the sex acts were being conducted.
And on reports of pictures of the teenagers that engaged in illicit behaviour circulating on social media, Ms Katono said that as police they were not aware of the development.
She however said if police observes that the pictures of the teenagers are circulating on the media and prove that they constitute an offence, they would quickly act on the matter.
