NATIONAL Office for Child and Family Services (NOCFS) Chief Executive Officer Mr Jerry Wap has called on citizens to immediately and properly report all forms of abuses committed against children to authorities when they occur.
Mr Wap, who is the country’s chief child protection officer, said this yesterday when condemning two separate criminal acts being committed against children in undisclosed locations in the country.
The abuses went viral on social media platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp forums in the last two-days.
In the first incident, a girl, about four-years-old, was allegedly being physically assaulted by her stepmother resulting in her suffering injuries to her face and right hand.
In the second case, a purported argument between a couple resulted in the mother taking out a kitchen knife and allegedly stabbing her own child whilst trying to attack her husband.
“I call on members of the public and communities to report any and all forms of child abuse to the police, the NOCFS and our child protection officers in the provinces and districts,” Mr Wap said.
“We all have a duty and responsibility to protect children in this country,” he said.
“Parents, members of the community and authorities must work together to protect children—child protection is everybody’s business,” Mr Wap said.
“The right way to report any abuses committed against children is to go to your nearest police station, report to a child protection officer or come to my office,” Mr Wap said.
Mr Wap said whilst uploading images and videos of child abuse on social media channels may alert authorities on cases of abuse, it does little to help in official investigations if full details such as names of perpetrators, location of the abuse, time and date were not provided.
“This is important for us to investigate the matter thoroughly, arrest the perpetrators, and protect the children,” Mr Wap explained.
“Together, we must end abuses and criminal acts committed against children. Perpetrators of crimes committed against children must face the full force of the law,” he said.
According to Mr Wap, children in PNG are protected by the Lukautim Pikinini Act (2015) and the National Child Protection Policy and other related laws.
Furthermore, Mr Wap called on social media subscribers and content creators not to post fake news regarding child abuses and not to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate images of children and use it for sinister purposes or scams just to boost their following and gain traction.
He said spreading fake and misleading information is unlawful and people doing that can be arrested and charged under the country’s Cyber Crime Act.