RESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has instructed the ruling party Women's Wing (UWT) to help the fighting against child abuse in the country.

The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Chairwoman made the call on Monday when officiating the wing's 10th General Meeting at the Jakaya Kikwete Convention Center, Dodoma.

She said the rapid increase of child abuse cases calls for more determination and seriousness to put to an end the evil practice.

"We have been shouting about the matter over and over. The fact that it is still there is because we haven't stood up to fight against it... we are just singing, we have sung it in all the conferences we have gone to," the President said bitterly.

She added: "If we don't want it, we will stand up and say we don't want this. But what is happening now is that the numbers of cases of humiliation keep growing in each region that you visit. I want you to work on the matter," she said.

According to the World Health Organization recent report, nearly 3 in 4 children or 300 million children aged 2-4 years regularly suffer physical punishment and/or psychological violence at the hands of parents and caregivers.

One in 5 women and 1 in 13 men report having been sexually abused as a child aged 0-17 years and 120 million girls and young women under 20 years of age have suffered some form of forced sexual contact.

In Tanzania, a police report quoted in the media recently showed a 25.95 percent increase in child sexual abuse cases from 2015 to 2020. In the year 2020, some 7,388 cases were reported, while in 2015, some 5,803 cases reported.

Police statistics showed that from January 2021 to December 2021, there were 11,499 reported cases of abuse and violence against children in Tanzania.