DILI, 12 june 2023 ( TATOLI)- The Coordinator for children of Communication Forum for Timorese Women (FOKUPERS),Mercia Lopes, said currently 18 children are protected by FOKUPERS in the shelters house in Timor – Leste.
“Currently FOKUPERS protected 18 children from cases of sexual violence, sexual abuse, and also the case of domestic violence in the shelters house to assist them in the processing of their cases in the General Prosecutor to get justice for them and at the same time provide them the therapy and counseling for them to recover their mentality,” said Mercia Lopes to TATOLI in her office Palapasu, Dili on monday.
Marcia Lopes explained the children who are in FOKUPERS ‘ s shelter house composes of children aged 2 to 17, and some of them are pregnant.
“We protected their cases. Currently, their cases have been processed by the General Prosecutor, FOKUPERS will accompany their cases to get the punishment for the suspects who had broken their future,” she said.
Lopes, highlighted, FOKUPERS will accompany their cases in trials until the end of the solution, and after that FOKUPERS will bring them to their family and support them to return to school as they want to.
FOKUPERS was established in 1997 to address gender-based violence and human rights violations against women and children, particularly those committed at the time of the Indonesian occupation of Timor Leste.
FOKUPERS already operating for almost thirty years and has expanded its service delivery to include victim services, non-gender-based early childhood education, advocacy, and the empowerment of women – both in the community and in Timor Leste as a nation.
This work is supported through the involvement of 31 community-based women’s groups in 13 municipalities. It incorporates the operation of shelters, creches, legal support, training and development, economic empowerment, and community awareness raising in Timor – Leste.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Nelia B.
