Not even Sophocles could have come up with the diabolically twisted plot that emerged from the sleepy town of Amstetten, Austria, at the end of last month. The world let out a collective gasp of horror and disbelief when it discovered what Josef Fritzl had inflicted on his daughter Elizabeth during the 24 years he had sequestered her for. During that time, she had given birth to seven of her father?s children.

Three of them have spent their entire lives in the cellar.

Fritzl?s bestiality must not however distract us from the fact that horrendous acts of violence are being carried out against this country?s children almost on a daily basis. The tragic death of Seyfoullah Fookerbux, 6, is but one example of this inconvenient truth. Figures show that violence against children is on the increase. Yet the resources at the disposal of those entrusted with combating this evil continue to be grossly insufficient.

For several years now, the Ombudsperson for Children?s Office (OCO) has been demanding a reform of the chain of protection. In its 2007 Annual Report, it once again stressed the Child Development Unit?s lack of means.

?The challenges are enormous. The reports of very grave violations of children's rights, including physical, psychological and sexual abuse and child neglect put immense pressure on the Child Development Unit of the ministry, which is both providing service in this respect and dealing with child development. This means that the same unit is making policy and monitoring a small team of specialized workers who work in the field. In each Annual Report we have laid emphasis on the need to recruit more field workers and reinforce the unit altogether.?

The CDU does indeed shoulder enormous responsibilities. According to the website of Women?s rights, the unit is ?responsible for the enforcement of legislation pertaining to children and for the implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to the survival, development, protection and participation of children?.

A recent article in this newspaper reported that the unit receives an average of four distress phone calls every night and more than a dozen during office hours. Now consider this:

it is staffed by a grand total of seven people. That?s four less than a football team! Plainly, asking the CDU to fulfill its responsibilities is like asking Havant and Waterlooville to win the Champions League. The only difference is that the CDU?s shortcomings are paid for in children?s lives.

?The most difficult aspect of the problem is the ever-growing number of children who are at risk of harm and the difficulty to deal with the cases satisfactorily. Further there is a great deficiency in terms of specialized personnel. There must be more effort to train carers both for government and NGO-run institutions?, pleads the OCO?s report.

It?s always easy to be wise after the event. Yet the OCO has been hammering on about the need to increase the CDU?s capacities for the past four years. Its pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Incidentally, the very same thing happens to the National Human Rights Commission?s annual report. It is sent to the president of the Republic and then to Parliament. Every single MP receives a copy. What happens next is anyone?s guess.

All the honourable members of Parliament should take a long hard look in the mirror and perhaps even tell themselves that these reports are not compiled simply to deplete the world?s forestry reserves. They are written to inform them so that they, in turn, can pressure the decision-makers to act. Instead of beating on vacuously about the board, or lack thereof, of the Sir Seewoosagur Rangoolam Foundation, MPs of all political persuasions would thus be well advised to do their homework. The kind that really matters.