Kigali Authorities Sound Alarm Over Rising Cases of Child Sexual Abuse

KIGALI, Rwanda - The City of Kigali has raised alarm over the growing number of child sexual abuse cases, warning that many incidents remain unreported due to parental negligence and lack of awareness.

City spokesperson Ntirenganya Emma Claudine said the number of children suffering sexual violence is “not small,” adding that insufficient parental supervision continues to fuel the problem. “There are parents who do not monitor their children to ensure they do not encounter such a problem,” she said. “If a parent has other things to do, they should at least know who is with their child and where they are staying.”

According to the National Criminal Investigation Service (RIB), during the 2023/24 fiscal year, 4,901 people were prosecuted for sexual violence against children nationwide - including 4,767 men and 134 women. The victims included 4,849 children, among them 4,646 girls and 203 boys.

Ntirenganya noted that most of the reported cases are substantiated. “At the national level, more than 4,000 children were received by the Criminal Investigation Service with allegations of rape, and about 75 to 76 percent of those cases were proven,” she told Isango Star. “What concerns us most is that these figures represent only the complaints that reached the courts.”

She added that a significant number of cases go unreported, often because parents fail to notice the abuse or the children remain silent. “There are children who are raped without their parents knowing about it,” she said.

The City of Kigali is urging parents and guardians to take greater responsibility for their children’s safety by paying attention to their whereabouts and the people around them. Authorities also appealed to communities to show compassion toward victims rather than stigmatizing them.

“The girl who was raped and suffered a tragedy, even becoming pregnant - we must remember she is a victim of a heinous crime punishable by life imprisonment,” Ntirenganya emphasized. “We should not add another burden to her pain.”

Officials say continued public awareness and stronger parental involvement are crucial to protecting children and ensuring justice for survivors of sexual violence.