World-famous Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho has declared her support against child sexual abuse and exploitation and has been made an Ambassador of the CRCA/ECPAT child rights organisation in Albania.
In honour of the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse which takes place today and tomorrow, she said:
“Violators are stealing the innocence and brittleness of our children but they will never succeed in silencing them. Children and young people all over the world are suffering because of sexual exploitation online and offline. Let’s become the voice of those who do not have one!
She is the first Albanian personality to engage in the fight against child sexual violence at a time when globally, rates of such abuse are going up. According to CRCA, Albania declared a 1000 fold increase in reports of child pornography during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The announcement coincides with an apparent increase in cases of sexual violence against women and girls in Albania. A number of disturbing cases have been made public in the last few weeks. Barnahus Albania, a local NGO reports it has saved around 30 girls from abuse in the last months.
In communications with Exit, CRCA Albania said that one in 10 Albanian children are victims of sexual abuse but only 42% of cases are found guilty. This is the lowest rate of conviction in Europe.
