Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef

• Establishing effective mechanisms for the implementation of legislation in
accordance with international conventions on the prevention and combating of
child trafficking;
• Establishing mechanisms for the implementaiton of legislation against corporal
punishment in schools, the penal system and the family;
• Establishing partnerships with other organisations around the prevention of sexual
abuse of children;
• Sensitising children, educators, families and communities on the effects and
prevention of sexual abuse of children;
• Establishing rigorous mechanisms for the monitoring of tourist activities, traditional
cultural practices and other activities that encourage sexual exploitation of children,
including child pornography.
Awareness raising is essential, not only at community level, including in schools, but
also for professionals in contact with children. Appropriate media attention also serves
to raise awareness, promote open discussion and encourage communities to respond
to cases of abuse and exploitation. Strengthening the availability of support and
rehabilitation services is another key dimension. The effectiveness of such responses
is significantly enhanced by the existence of an effective coordination mechanism.
Box 5.4: A bridge across the Zambezi: what needs to be done for children
In 2006, Save the Children published a report based on research undertaken
in 2004 and 2005 aimed at gaining a better understanding of the existing
vulnerabilities and risks facing children in the town of Caia and the locality of
Chimuara, both located in Sofala province, on opposite sides of the Zambezi river,
prior to the pending construction of a new bridge across the Zambezi river.
Both Caia, in Caia district, and Chimuara, in Mopeia district, are rural areas in
which the inhabitants are dependent on small-scale subsistence agriculture
to provide for their families and earn an income. The challenges faced by the
communities in these areas are similar to those in other rural areas, such as
chronic poverty, vulnerability to natural disasters and food insecurity, leading to
malnutrition among children. In addition, Sofala province currently has the highest
AIDS prevalence in the country, at 26.5 per cent, and the impact of HIV/AIDS,
particularly the associated increase in orphaned and vulnerable children, is placing
an additional burden on the communities in Caia and Chimuara.
The National Highway meets the river on both sides and the National Road
Administration currently runs a ferry service transporting traffic across the river. As
a result of the ferry crossing, business owners and informal traders have opened
‘barracas’, guesthouses and vending stands, on both sides of the river.
The study found that the increased volume of traffic and the existence of the
barracas created by the ferry crossing have raised a number of child protection
concerns. The high number of visitors using the ferry service, in addition to the
presence of workers from other infrastructure projects in the area, often men
travelling or living alone for long periods, with relatively high incomes, have led
to sexual abuse and exploitation of children, both in terms of sexual harassment
or assault, and also prostitution among the so-called ‘barraca girls’, leaving the
children highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and STIs. In addition, harmful child labour
has been witnessed, with boys as young as ten or eleven living and working by
the river, often for long hours or in hazardous settings, with serious negative
implications for both their education and their health. While some measures have
been taken by the district authorities to keep children out of the barracas, on the
whole those interviewed considered these measures to be ineffective.
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