COMMENT: Society has a mandate to protect children against sexual abuse

Reports that about 69 percent of child sexual abuse cases occur in the home and are perpetrated by people who are supposed to protect the minors and are close to them, call for serious intervention by relevant Government arms and those organisations dealing with issues to do with rights of children.

Child sexual abuse causes permanent scars to the children leading to many psychological problems in their development that affect the way they live as adults.

It is against this background that relevant authorities should step up campaigns against sexual abuse on children, especially during the lockdown period.

Those organisations dealing with the protection of rights of children and post traumatic counselling should be visible at all times so that they are easily accessible so that they quickly come to the aid of the children who have suffered various forms of abuse and at the same time rescue those under threat from sexual predators.

The police victim friendly unit also plays a critical role in the protection of children against sexual abuse.

In a paper submitted to the Journal of Counselling and Development by Kathleen L Ratican titled, “Sexual Abuse Survivors: Identifying Symptoms and Special Treatment Considerations” child sexual abuse refers to, “any sexual act, overt or covert, between a child and an adult (or older child, where the younger child’s participation is obtained through seduction or coercion). Irrespective of how childhood sexual abuse is defined it generally has significant negative and pervasive psychological impact on its victims.”

Studies have also revealed that besides infringing on the basic rights of humans, childhood sexual abuse cause trauma results to many different psychosocial problems.

The American Counselling Association says childhood sexual abuse has been correlated with higher levels of depression, guilt, shame, self-blame, eating disorders, somatic concerns, anxiety, dissociative patterns, repression, denial, sexual problems, and relationship problems.

According to Browne, A and Finkelhor, D in “Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research. Psychological Bulletin,” survivors often experience guilt, shame, and self-blame.

“It has been shown that survivors frequently take personal responsibility for the abuse. When the sexual abuse is done by an esteemed trusted adult it may be hard for the children to view the perpetrator in a negative light, thus leaving them incapable of seeing what happened as not their fault. Survivors often blame themselves and internalise negative messages about themselves. Survivors tend to display more self-destructive behaviors and experience more suicidal ideation than those who have not been abused,” the scholars said.

Childline estimates that at least one in three girls and two in five boys are survivors of sexual abuse in Zimbabwe just like in other African countries.

The Zimbabwe Association of Church-Related Hospitals on Sunday said cases of sexual abuse of children and gender-based violence are likely to increase with every advent of a crisis.

“About 69 percent of sexual abuse occurs in the home according to the Violence Against Children Survey, 2019. What this means for many survivors, however, is that they are trapped at home with the abusive partners and family members with little chances of reporting,” read the report.

“The fear is that they are trapped in the Covid-19 lockdown unable to leave, escape or reach out for help and in essence, homes are no longer safe havens. Young people are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. All possible steps must be taken to protect children against sexual predators.”

In Zimbabwe, policy makers have proposed a mandatory minimum 60-year jail sentence for people convicted of raping minors aged 12 years and below and the disabled while a 40-year term will apply for all rape cases as part of deterrent measures to stamp out the crime.

“Sadly, survivors always call for help and that is where the story ends. According to the VCS 2019 report, 61 percent tell someone about sexual abuse but only 14 percent of survivors access services,” read the statement.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to break the silence and protect the word’s future generations. There is need to break the silence of institutions.”

The organisation said sexual abuse exposes children to HIV, unwanted pregnancies and increase the likelihood that they will experience other sexual assaults in the future or become abusers themselves.

“Prevailing toxic social norms and gender inequalities, economic and social stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with restricted movement and social isolation measures, have led to an exponential increase in sexual violence,” said ZACH.

“Cases of child sexual abuse are rarely reported because the majority of perpetrators are related to the abuse children,” read the statement.

Statistics from the National Aids Council show that the majority of sexual abuse cases in Bulawayo involve children, some aged below five years.

The latest quarterly report on Bulawayo states that 59 percent of the total abuse cases reported in the city were from girls aged between 10 and 14 years.

“The province recorded more sexual violence cases in the young people in the 10-14 and the 15-19 age groups who make up 59 percent of the total abuse cases. Of particular concern is the number of under-fives who are sexually abused who make up 14.8 percent of the total number of abuse cases reported,” the report said.