The Center for Research and Comprehensive Care for Victims of Sexual Abuse (CAIVAS) has revealed that there have been nearly 1,400 registered allegations of sexual abuse in Colombia since the beginning of 2014, local media reported Thursday.
In an interview with Colombia’s El Espectador newspaper, the prosecutor in charge of Colombia’s Sexual Offenses Unit, Piedad Claudia Gonzalez, said that in the first four months of the year, there have been 1,364 registered sexual abuse allegations throughout the country.
According to official figures, 80% of the cases have involved minors.
“The message is to listen to your children, discuss with them and be aware of what they are doing. You have to be very confident and attentive to the slights suspicion of abuse,” said Gonzalez.
MORE: Sex abuse on buses a growing problem for Colombia capital
According to the prosecutor, victims of sexual abuse and their families are losing their fear of reporting such crimes, which has resulted in an increase in sexual abuse allegations.
CAIVAS reported that in 2014, 90 convictions have been handed down to perpetrators of sexual abuse, allegedly indicating that the justice process for these types of crimes has become more efficient.
In 2013, Colombia’s coroner’s office reported 11,333 cases of sexual violence perpetrated against children and adolescents between January and September.
MORE: Alarming statistics on sexual violence against children in Colombia
The most recent and public example has been the case was a teacher in Bogota who had been accused of sexual abuse by five students.
According to Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper, approximately 13 cases of sexual abuse are reported daily in Bogota, Colombia’s capital city.