Officials in Ethiopia have said that more than 100 girls were raped and treated in the capital, Addis Ababa, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease.
The privately owned Walta TV reported the news. The abuse includes cases of incest.
The head of the Addis Ababa women and children affairs office, Almaz Abraham, said sexual violence was on the rise as schools closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease in Ethiopia.
“One hundred and one girls were raped in the past two months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
“The problem is that, unlike when schools were open, the attacks are not being exposed until the girls get pregnant. Maybe there would be chances of stopping it from reaching to that stage if the girls were going to school.
“Men who used to practise different habits outside their homes are now doing them to their children when they stay at home,” she said.
