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soared over the last 10 years and is traumatising thousands of children – mostly young girls.
Almost on a daily basis the media carry stories of children being sexually abused countrywide.
Some offenders are prosecuted, but others escape scot-free due to a lack of evidence. Other cases take too long to be finalised, which often result in the victims being forced to come face-to-face with their abusers, thus further traumatising them.
In the last decade alone, more than 30 000 cases of child sexual abuse were reported to the police. Between the year 2000 and June this year, Harare recorded the highest number with 4 711 cases followed by Manicaland province’s 4 344.
According to recent media reports, 124 girls around the country were raped in the first 13 days of September alone.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena expressed concern over the increase of crime, and especially the rape of juveniles.
He attributed some juvenile rape cases to negligence by guardians and parents who leave young girls in the custody of relatives and strangers for long periods.
“It is at this time that these girls are raped, in most cases by persons who are known to the relatives. We appeal to the courts to mete out deterrent punishments to those convicted of such offences,” Bvudzijena said recently.
The Family Support Trust (FST), a non-governmental organisation that offers medical and psychosocial support to victims of child sexual abuse at its Family Support clinics, attends to about 278 cases of sexual abuse every month, more than 200 of which involve children.
Mrs Malianga says of the 3 294 children brought to the clinics last year, 2 987 were girls. And out of 1 757 cases attended to so far this year, 1 544 involve girls.
“We note from our figures that there is an increase in the number of girls being sexually abused,” says Mrs Malianga, partly attributing this to an increased awareness in communities on the need to report such cases.
Mrs Malianga says children who are sexually abused suffer both psychological trauma and physical injuries, scars that they will live with for life.
“A child suffers some physical injuries, including bruises cuts, bleeding, pain and irritation of the mouth, genitalia or the anus, depending on the site of the abuse,” she explains.
She adds: “Some of the sexual abuse results from close relatives and the family is under pressure not to report. Furthermore, some cases fall away before being reported due to lack of a bus fare, or fear of the long process involved in reporting the case.”
Mrs Malianga says every opportunity should be taken to preach against child sexual abuse, on the streets, buses, factory floors, at the pulpit and in the media.
Girl Child Network Zimbabwe (GCNZ) says it receives between eight and 10 cases a day.
“Four go through the courts while some fall by the wayside due to fear and shame,” says acting director Kumbirai Chikowero.
“Cases of child sexual abuse are on the increase, considering the number of girls that come to our offices daily and the cases that go unreported,” she says.
Chikowero attributes the increase of rape incidents to cultural and religious practices, as well as poverty and the impact of HIV and Aids on orphans which exposes them to abuse.
He explains that it is a “heinous act” to force a child’s immature body into sex.
Chikowero says a child may accept abuse as the norm, but in many cases rape “stifles mental development as the victim may act like a child even when she becomes an adult”.
“A child who has been robbed of her innocence will continue to be haunted with such memories especially in a society where virginity is seen as a sign of purity. The punishment is unbearable,” says Chikowero.
She adds: “Some of these girl victims will never enjoy sex when married, as they develop a negative attitude towards men as a result of their experience.”
She reveals that some victims end up going into self-imposed exile, while others face social rejection as “punishment” for disrupting the family union by exposing relatives for rape.
Both FST and GCNZ say cases reported to the police are significantly lower than the actual incidents because not all cases are brought to the attention of the police.
Some critics argue that the law is lenient on rapists compared to cattle rustlers, with the latter offence attracting a minimum jail sentence of about 25 years. Others say stiffer penalties only deal with symptoms but not the causes.
“Stiffer penalties help, but on their own they are not very effective,” says Professor Gordon Chavunduka, president of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association (Zinatha).
He attributes the rampant cases of child sexual abuse to the weakening of traditional education and a breakdown of culture due to the adoption of Western cultures.
Prof Chavunduka says in the “old days” there were strict rules that governed relationships between men and women and these rules were taught to children as they grew up.
“Boys were taught not to touch girls or play close to them,” he said.
“Once you go through that stage of childhood and internalise these teachings, the problems that we see today don’t arise,” he said.
Prof Chavunduka also bemoaned lack of sex education in the home and that the family was no longer playing its role as an agent of socialisation.
He castigated such healers, calling them “liars”, who lack proper training and are only after money.
Prof Chavunduka says there is a need to “go back to our culture and encourage the use of African education in schools, as well as reviving the vital role aunts and uncles play in society”.
Apart from the risk of contracting HIV and Aids, falling pregnant or developing spinal injuries, the impact of sexual abuse is also felt through poor performance of the child in social and educational activities.
“The child may suffer from low self-esteem,” added Chikowero.
“She may even try and commit suicide.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) says in the worst circumstances the injuries sustained may be life threatening.
But in many cases such abuse “results in depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and emotional disturbances, long-term psychological disturbance, which may affect a child’s ability to trust adults and to form healthy relationships,” says Unicef.
Unicef adds that children exposed to violence, abuse and exploitation have the right to seek recourse through social welfare, health and legal systems.
“However, due to the challenges facing the Government service delivery mechanisms such as retention of qualified staff, shortage of funding, deteriorating infrastructure – emerging evidence indicates that many children cannot access the services they need.”
Clinical psychologist Lazarus Kajawu concurs, saying: “The initial reaction is often a nervous breakdown because the victim feels like her world has come to an end, dealing a major blow to her self-esteem.”
“It is important to focus on boosting the victim’s esteem and to convince them that it was not their fault.”
Mr Kajawu says there are many influences that motivate someone to rape a child.
These include individual mental disorders, family pressures, and cultural and spiritual issues.
Mr Kajawu also believes that people who have suffered sexual abuse in the past tend to become offenders.
“In some cases rapists commit the crime to settle a score with a particular family,” he said.
Others are misled by some “reckless” traditional healers who claim that if a man sleeps with a minor they will be cured of HIV.
Many rapists claim ignorance of their offence, saying that they did not know what had gotten into them.
“It’s partly true in the sense that we really don’t know what influences our behaviour,” says Mr Kajawu.
However, he says there are some people who actually enjoy seeing other people in pain due to psychological dysfunction.
“As the victim is groaning in pain and fear, the rapist gets psychological satisfaction.”
Mr Kajawu urged potential rapists to seek treatment and for Government to make counselling available to those in jail so that they do not commit the offence again once released.
But until the causes of such offences are identified and adequately addressed by the country’s health and social service authorities, child sexual abuse is likely to become an increasingly serious social disorder
undermining the fabric of family life.
Online Reporter