YOUTH PARTICPATION IN ELECTIONS

Monday, July 18, 2011

YOUTH PARTICPATION IN ELECTIONS

Operation Young Vote gave a talk to the YWCA Youths on the importance of youth participation in the electoral process:

Outcome of meeting:

1.       Most youths do not participate in the electoral process/voting because they feel government has never and will never take their issues into consideration.

2.       Other youths felt participating in the electoral process is a right, therefore youths should be able to exercise their rights.

3.       Youths felt the reason why most young people do not participate in elections is because of the examples our leaders, (no mentors).

4.       Youths who are not affected e.g. by unemployment tend to be comfortable and do not want to support or speak for those who are not in employment.

Through the discussion and exchange of experiences, youths were able to realise that they are key towards National Development and as their right, they should be able to participate fully in the electoral process and not to be used as tools for violence.

CHILD ABUSE CASES

YWCA Youths are concerned with the high levels of abuse and child delinquency cases.

Studies carried out by YWCA in 1996 namely the defilement and incest study, it was revealed that Zambian children were not safe both in homes and on the streets.  Children have been sexually abused or forced to undergo other traumatic experiences like been withdrawn from school to marry them off.

According to YWCA statistics ending 2010 were 253 cases of defilement, 51 cases of rape 9 cases of incest and 1,707 cases of child neglect.  This presents an increase from 7,016 and 6,836 cases reported in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

It is a well acknowledged fact that children are the building blocks of any nation and the government attaches great importance to the right of children.  The orphan and vulnerable children in Zambia situation analysis conducted in 2004 revealed that the number of vulnerable children was rising.  In 1992 it was estimated at 720,000 orphans but has since risen to 1,100,000 and this figure continues to rise on daily basis. 

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been singled out as the biggest cause of orphan hood and vulnerability, poverty has also contributed greatly to children’s vulnerability and threatens their very existence.

Furthermore, the two twin evils of poverty and HIV/AIDS have completely eroded the socio-economic status of the country causing families breaking down traditional family support structures, breeding a hitherto cadre of children such as street children, child headed homes which has affected children’s full development into responsible adults.     

While the youths are the core of every nation as they hold the dreams and success of the future generation and as such should be enhanced by providing an enabling and user friendly environment. The youths and children have aspirations to be somebody in future. However, their dreams and aspirations are threatened because of HIV/AIDS which is eroding the breadwinners leaving the children with little or no support. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has disintegrated family units as many children who have been taken in by other relatives have found themselves reliving the trauma because that relative who took them in dies as well, living them to fetch for themselves.  This has traumatized the children who without any protection have suffered all forms of abuse.

It is estimated that there are around 920,000 people in Zambia living with HIV, with 94,000 deaths as a result of AIDS related sicknesses per year. According to Children on the Brink 2004 report, 19% of Zambian children under the age of 18 had been orphaned, totaling to 1,100,000 children. These figures suggest that Zambia has the highest proportion of orphans in Sub-Sahara Africa. HIV/AIDS continues to be the largest cause of orphans.

The YWCA youths recognizes the importance of a healthy childhood for it is the foundation that builds up the generation of tomorrow. It is in light of this foundation that YWCA has an intervention that protects children and continues to seek and establish a social safety net for children. However, the child abuse in all forms is on the increase and it is important that concerted effects are strategically put in place as children are the future leaders of tomorrow so we have a duty to protect and care for them.