Rita Venkatasawmy, Ombudsperson : “The place of a child is at school, not in a relationship”

The annual report of the Ombudsperson for children for 2017-2018 was launched on Thursday 11th October at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre at Bell Village. Fazeela Daureeawoo, the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare and Rita Venkatasawmy, the Ombudsperson, intervened to explain about the relevance of protecting children and contents of the report.

The Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Fazeela Daureeawoo, during her intervention said that it is high time to ponder on the development of our children and youth in our country. According to her, it is not solely the duty of the Government but everybody else is concerned. “We want to build a bright future for every child, without exception. The protection of children is a matter of concern for each and everyone including the Government,” she declares.

She asserts that in our current era, we are facing a society which is constantly deteriorating in terms of values. People need not restrict themselves only to the measures taken by the Government but they have to find solutions to the problems by analysing thoroughly what we are experiencing. “Thus, it’s very important to inculcate good values in our children. Despite the parents being extremely busy and that we are living in a society which is constantly modernizing, we should not let these limitations overpower our lives,” she advises. For her, there should be a moment in every house when the child and his parents can communicate freely on a daily basis. Dinner and breakfast are the opportune moments to do that. Furthermore, when parents and children are at loggerheads, they attempt to find the source of the problem and not just be satisfied with short-term solutions. To improve the services of the CDU, Fazeelah Daureeawoo announces that it will be broken into two units, as the work of the CDU was too bulky in the past. 

Role of Ombdusperson

Mrs Rita Venkatasawmy, the Ombudsperson, for her part, chose to define her role, as many Mauritians are not clear about it. “My role as Ombudsperson is to promote the rights of the children of Mauritius,” she said. The Ombudsperson system was initiated after a parliamentary vote in 2003. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the mandate of an Ombudsperson is more extended than the CDU. They carry all investigations independently and for the Ombudsperson, the interest of the children must prevail. They have five investigators in their office to inquire deeply into the matter before reaching a conclusion. She wholeheartedly thanked the media, which plays a pivotal role in reporting many unknown cases in the press. 

In addition, she talked about the Children’s Bill. Her team is working in collaboration with the concerned ministry to bring their propositions on the legislative.  They have innovated this time and involved many children from Mauritius, Rodrigues and Chagos, through residential workshops to inquire directly from them about the children’s issues and the solutions.

Some recommendations in the Report

The report extensively elucidates on all the recommendations of the Ombudsperson in 466 pages.  Rita Venkatasawmy advances that there are millions of girls around the world whose basic rights are being violated. The child marriages, according to her, contain the highest risk of ruining the lives of girls aged as young as 12 or 13, as well as many other teenagers. “The children who are affected can be of any religious ethnicity but at the end of the day, she is just a child. It should be noted that girls at this age are prepared neither physically nor mentally to live in as a couple. The statistics are alarming: The fertility rate among teens aged 15-19 is around 32% in Mauritius. Her principal argument is that education is obligatory for a child till the age of 16 and the place of a child is at school not in a relationship. Everyone must abide by the Mauritian law, whereby being 18-years-old is the marriageable age.  “As an effective measure, I highly recommend that sexual education must be imparted at school. There are many debates on this and many deem this as a taboo subject. But these same minors are going into relationships without anyone’s knowledge and sometimes it’s too late,” she advances. Since four years, the number of young girls who have been impregnated amounts to around 2,000. All these things are endangering the lives and health of many girls. 

Rape cases

According to statistics, on average, one rape case is reported every month. But there are many cases which are not reported for various reasons. In that, she recommends that the police officer who inquires with the child at the police station must act in such a way that the child is not frightened to report. “The child should be at ease and they should act as if they will do their best to inquire. Many victims have reported to us that the police officer asks if the rapists are not their boyfriends. “What they should know is that whoever he might be, a rapist is a rapist.  ‘Boyfriend’ doesn’t mean he should rape the girl,” she explains. One more important measure is that the police officer should record the statement of the child in a video as very often, they forget details because they are just a child. In some cases, the DPP finds it difficult to take any action because of a lack of proof. Moreover, the psychological rehabilitation must be carried on an individual basis. One visit per month from the psychologist is not enough for a follow-up with a child victim.