THE government has condemned the rising wave of Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases and other acts of violence in the community and promises to reduce the trend by 50 percent by the years 2021 and 2022.

This was stated yesterday by the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu.

Expressing how saddened she was on the barbaric acts to which a 15 year old house maid was subjected by a primary school teacher in Dodoma, she remarked: “Following the acts perpetrated by the primary school teacher, the ministry calls for parents, guardians and the community to focus on the responsibility of protecting children so as to ensure their safety in areas like home, school, streets and roads so as to achieve the reduction of such violence by 50 percent by 2021 and 2022.

The minister gave the statement three days after the girl’s incident was reported. In December 30 last year, media outlets exposed the violent acts against the girl who also has a five-month-old baby, was also severely beaten by her employer.

She further claimed that she was forced by her employer to lock her baby in the wardrobe and was cruelly punished whenever she broke the rule. The health ministry has condemned acts of violence against children.

“These acts are perpetrated and involve close-knit relatives and guardians and thus posing a major threat to children and the community as they affect the child’s upbringing,” she stated.