Authorities very slow to tackle child abuse cases

Two siblings, a 22-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy, recently filed a suit against their parents, accusing their father of sexual abuse and exploitation over several years and their mother of taking part in the cover-up.

According to the 22-year-old’s lawyer the boy went to the police in 2017, encouraged by his tutor, to report to the police that he had been raped by his father and his father’s friends repeatedly from the age of 7.

Despite a psychiatrist’s 2018 report that the boy was telling the truth, the father has yet to be indicted. The siblings claim that the father has also raped a younger sister, now 11. The parents retain custody of both minors.

Experts contend that the case is typical of the delays and seeming indifference shown by authorities to the plight of abused children.

This also impacts reporting of abuse, they say.