adminRumbie Marime
One’s eyes open wide in shock horror and dismay as a verdict of 16 years in jail is passed by a stern-looking magistrate bent on ensuring that justice truly prevails. Relatives exclaim and weep in despair as the breadwinner is led away in cuffs to his soon to be permanent home.
In the midst of all this drama, a little girl can finally breathe easy, knowing that she has been saved from a life of continuous molestation and sexual abuse. Though her innocence will never be restored, she can finally be a child again.
As for the perpetrator, one would love to ask the question “was a few minutes of perversion worth such a big chunk of one’s freedom and potentially whole life, should they not live long enough to see the outside again?” The issue of child sexual abuse is increasingly becoming an issue of concern in Zimbabwe, with particular emphasis to Manicaland. Constantly new reports are being made in local publications of horrific tales. Little children, some still in diapers are being viciously raped and molested.
One can only wonder and ponder the reasons why a grown person would engage in such meaningless activities that destroy the innocence and potential future of children not to mention the physical and emotional damages. What is truly shocking at times is the behaviour of family members, who more often than not pile to the defence and justification of the perpetrator’s actions.
Children are suppressed from speaking to peers, teachers or anyone who can be of assistance and threatened with all sorts of atrocities just to silence them from unravelling the threads of the family’s existence.
Should a family member be brave enough to report rape, they often become victims of abuse and discrimination within their families and clans. It is disheartening how perpetrators seem to reap rewards for abusing children whilst the child’s life and health changes negatively overnight. Should the case be reported, a child may be removed from their usual environment, disrupted from their regular activities and in particularly bad cases, require hospitalisation to try and restore their physically battered bodies.
Meanwhile the perpetrator may be granted bail, continues with their lifestyle and has time to plan their defence and in some cases escape. In other instances, these perpetrators become a threatening source to the reporter of the abuse within the community. Girls as young as 12, are becoming mothers to unwanted children, the spawn of a traumatic rape incident.
In a shameless attempt to save themselves from the painful strike of justice, perpetrators have been known to mislead these poor victims into thinking that the rape was an act of love and offer false promises of marriage. Some families have greedily compromised the future of their own, accepting payments in cash or kind as compensation or bride price to keep cases of child sexual abuse hidden and unreported.
A little girl is promised the world upon being given to her so called husband, where she may soon realise that she is condemned to a life of further horrific abuse and neglect.
Should she bear children, she finds herself sealed in an existence of being a helpless dependant. In Manicaland, Simukai Child Protection Programme, a Private Voluntary Organisation established in 2000 that seeks to protect and uphold the rights of orphans and vulnerable children, are saying, “enough!” No more shall perpetrators go unpunished! Simukai is a long-standing member of the Victim Friendly Committee, a coalition of various organisations, Government Ministries, the Magistrates’ Court, schools and the Victim Friendly Unit of the ZRP which seeks to fight abuse and other injustices. Through this network, a collaborated effort is employed to address particularly difficult cases and bring to light the evils of crime.
However, the protection of children can only be complete with the public’s involvement. We urge all members of the public to not let child abuse go unpunished by reporting cases not only to Simukai, but any other relevant organisation such as the Victim Friendly Unit of ZRP or other organisations working with children.
Let us join together to protect the future of Zimbabwe, our children!
For comments or feedback please visit our website: www.simukaiccp.org <http://www.simukaiccp.org>, Facebook page: Simukai Child Protection Programme or email: [email protected]
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