1 Apr 2010

Call for more social awareness in Vanuatu following baby's alleged killing

2:05 pm on 1 April 2010

The president of Vanuatu's National Council of Women says communities across the country need to take a concerted look at the pressures which drive young mothers to kill their babies.

Manina Packete's comment follows the arrest of a 38-year-old woman on Malo near Santo after allegedly killing her three month-old baby.

It was alleged the mother committed the act because the baby was not her husband's child.

The death has sparked local outrage similar to last year when a young mother on Efate dumped her dead child in a rubbish bin.

Manina Packete says these killings raise the need for more awareness about the plight of young Vanuatu mothers who are stigmatised for the circumstances surrounding the births of their babies.

"We have to consider why those ladies have to do the killings of their babies - because the pressures of their families and their integrity. There's a lot of things involved to push the woman to the immoral act."

Manina Packete