KATHMANDU, Oct 13: Experts from various sectors including those from the law enforcement agencies have stressed the need for adopting an integrated approach, sex education and domestic peace in order to minimize sexual crimes in the country.

Speaking at a panel discussion titled 'Sexual Crime: Causes and Solutions' organized by Sushil Koirala Memorial Foundation in the capital on Friday, former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police, Devendra Subedi, called for an integrated approach from police in their investigations and minimize sexual crimes.

“We have three layers of government now, and the police now need to put in more effort to address the increasing cases of sexual crimes,” he said, “Police need to implement an integrated approach whereby they can take help from other organizations in the process of investigation.”

Former AIG Subedi, who could successfully resolve various high-profile cases while in office, also emphasized the need for giving sex education to youths to make them aware of sex and reproductive process. “Education is the most important factor in the process of building values in youngsters,” he said, “Children of this age should have access to sex education at early stages of their puberty.”

While expressing worry over the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, former minister Nabindra Raj Joshi, who chaired the program, said democracy is not secured if criminals feel that they can easily escape the law. “The first and foremost duty of the state is to ensure the security of its citizens,” he said, “The government should be able to provide security and justice to the people.”

Similarly, human rights activist Charan Prasai claimed that one of the causes behind the rise in cases of sexual crimes is society's soft approach toward crimes. “Having gone through a decade-long armed insurgency, society has developed a soft approach to crimes,” he said. “It is high time that everyone started taking a stand against sexual crimes.”

Speaking at the function, psychologist Karuna Kunwar Bista said one of the reasons behind the increasing sexual crimes is disintegrated families. "Most of the families are turning into nuclear families these days. The sons are trained for foreign employment and the daughters are groomed for marriages from an early age,” she said, “In this process, we forget to progide sex education.”

Women rights activist and journalist Babita Basnet said that freedom does not always account to sexual crimes. “In western countries, they have freedom yet they have a respectful attitude towards women,” she said, “We should learn from them to develop respect for women.”

 
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