565 children under 17 were victims of sexual offences last year

565 children under the age of 17 years were victims of sexual offences last year.

This number of reported cases have been released by Police.

The issue regarding the numerous sexual attacks on our children remains a serious concern and calls have been made for all stakeholders to work together.

According to the 2018 statistics, 13 babies below the age of 5 years were victims of rape while 12 babies under the age of 5 years were sexually assaulted.

49 children between 6 to 12 years were victims of rape while 63 victims were aged between 13 to 17 years.  

There were 485 female victims and 80 male victims.

It has been revealed that 125 children under the age of 17 years were raped, 5 were victims of attempted rape, 69 were victims of sexual assault, 107 children were victims of abduction of a person under 18 years with intent to have carnal knowledge, 119 victims of indecent assault, 52 cases of indecently insulting or annoying a person and 88 cases of defilement of a young person between the age of 13 to 16 years.

The Western Division recorded the highest number of cases with 202 sexual offences, followed by the Southern Division with 149 cases, Northern Division with 131 cases and Eastern Division with 83 cases.

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