P a g e | 74 9.7.4 Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Article 27) Legislative Article 8 of the Constitution of Lesotho provides for protection against inhumane treatment. The Sexual Offences Act (2003) makes rape, sexual assault and sodomy illegal. Section 23 requires that proceedings involving children be held in camera to protect child victims and child witness’s privacy. General provisions of the CPW Act such as section 23 (child in need of care and protection) and section 44 (ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment or exposure of children to abuse) will apply here. The latter of these provisions makes an offence of the listed acts where it has or is likely to have caused harm to the child physically, psychologically and emotionally. The Penal Code has several provisions which criminalise sex acts:  Section 48 – indecency with children  Section 49 – Unlawful sexual intercourse with children  Section 50 – sexual molestation of minors  Section 51 – indecent assault  Section 52 – unlawful sexual act  Section 53 – incest  Section 55 – prostitution The Anti-Tip Act (2011) prohibits the sale of and sexual exploitation of children. Administrative Lesotho ratified the Sale of Children and Pornography optional protocol in 2003. As a response to major gaps in treatment and care for survivors of sexual abuse, the Family Health Division of the MOH, with the support of UNICEF, led the development of National Guidelines for the Management of Survivors of Sexual Abuse. The main objective of the national guidelines, which were adapted for Lesotho from the WHO Protocols for Sexual Abuse, is to ensure proper and effective management by all sectors that have responsibilities in handling cases of sexual abuse. It seeks a comprehensive, holistic and integrated approach toward managing sexual abuse to ensure the effective protection of abuse victims, mainly children, who require special sensitivity and care. It also ensures that appropriate emergency Post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and medical treatment and psychosocial care and support are provided at a health facility.

Select target paragraph3