MORE than 90 cases of rape and sexual assault were recorded in the Ra Province last year.
The figure raised a number of concerns from members of the Ra Provincial Council which called for a change in attitude from villagers.
Council chairman Manoa Serurareba said 94 cases of sexual assault and rape was “shameful”.
He said the youngest victim was six-month-old while the youngest perpetrator was 11. Mr Serurareba said the oldest victim was 71 while the oldest person to commit such an act was 85.
“This is something we should be ashamed of because we are no longer respecting our young girls and our women,” he said. “We have young daughters being raped and our grandmothers and mothers being abused.
“We have grandfathers, uncles and fathers who are treating our women this way and we need to stop. “Our leaders and our elders must put this as a priority because we can no longer carry on this way.” He also urged leaders to allow police officers to carry out their work when a case was reported.
“We shouldn’t be letting the two parties reconcile. “Let the police do their work and let the case be taken to court.
“We have a culture of hiding these cases and not letting the police come in. This needs to end.”
