adminFortunate Gora Correspondent
CHILDLINE Zimbabwe has received close to 600 000 distress calls from children in Mashonaland West province this year most of them involving sexually abused minors. Some of the calls came from children who would have received severe corporal punishment.
In an interview, Childline national director Mrs Stella Motsi said Childline receives about 50 000 such calls on a monthly basis. Worryingly, about 75 percent are of a sexual nature, with the majority being of abused girls.
“This year, we received about 50 000 calls every month of child abuse in this province (Mashonaland West) and we have responded to those cases by conducting some home visits or follow up support. Of the 600 000 distress calls received this year, 75 percent are of sexual abuse and of the 75 percent, it is worrisome that about 65 percent are against the girl child,” she said
Mrs Motsi said sexual abuse was the most common form of abuse nationwide, followed by physical abuse, including corporal punishment. The other reported forms of abuse were neglect and emotional torture. In a bid to improve communication, she said, Childline was devising strategies to better respond to cases of child abuse through use of technology.
“What we have done now is to introduce drop-in centres in all provinces and we have introduced mobile helplines that victims can use to call 116 or send WhatsApp text. We have also introduced the 116 mobile application online, which can be downloaded freely and used by young people to report cases of abuse and interact with others,” she said
Mrs Motsi said Childline was facing resource constraints to reach some areas where technology was still in limited use and in providing welfare to some victims of neglect. Mashonaland West Minister of State Cde Webster Shamu welcomed the complementary role being played by Childline, but urged them to move away from donor dependency.
“Over dependence on donor support must be a thing of the past. The culture of resource mobilisation from our local community should be highly promoted as this ensures sustainability and independence,” he said.
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