adminAccording to villagers, most of the abuse cases go unreported and in some cases parents or guardians of abused children connive with the perpetrators to conceal cases of abuse.
There are reports that some of the parents and guardians are being paid by the perpetrators of abuse and as such the complainants are suffering in silence. Concerned villagers have tried to expose the abuse and at one time some of them organised virginity tests at their local school, Tsetse Pirmary School, in a bid to expose individuals sexually abusing girls.
There was however, an uproar from some sections of the community that felt the tests were also another form of abuse. The villagers blame the increase in cases of sexual abuse of girls on the fact that there is no police post in the area. When the people in the area want to report crime, they have to either travel to Figtree Police Station about 35km away or Nkulumane Police Station in Bulawayo which is about 40 km away.
The villagers are appealing to the police to establish a police post in the area which they can easily access. They say the presence of a police post will also be deterrent to would-be criminals including those abusing young girls.
We totally agree with the villagers that there is need to establish a police post in the area given the many reports of child abuse coming from the area. It seems it’s a free-for-all in the area where perpetrators of crimes such as sexual abuse of girls are not being punished.
What is unfortunate is that the villagers have lost confidence in the police who they are accusing of not attending to reports of crime.
In a bid to protect children in the area from abuse, the villagers have formed a child protection committee, a confirmation that abuse of children is rife in the area. The committee indicates that it is facing difficulties because the police take long to respond to reports of child abuse and in some cases they do not respond at all.
What has compounded the committee’s task is that some of the individuals abusing the girls are their fathers or other close relatives therefore getting information is difficult. They said most of the victims of child abuse were reluctant to give information fearing reprisal from the perpetrators who happen to be close relatives.
The problem in the West Acre is a serious one given the effects of sexual abuse to children. The abused girls are traumatised for the rest of their lives so perpetrators of child abuse are in fact sentencing these children to death.
It is time authorities led by the police, moved in this area to sniff out the culprits so that they are brought to book. The parents or guardians who are being paid to protect the perpetrators from the long arm of the law should also face the music. These parents or guardians are equally guilty of child abuse and should also be punished.
There is need to take action now and protect the innocent children from these monsters who do not deserve to be within our midst. The call by villagers for the police to establish a police post in the area should be taken seriously. The villagers, especially the children, need protection and the earlier the police move in the better for the children.
The police should work closely with members of the Child Protection Committee who we believe have a lot of information regarding the goings on in the area. Organisations such as Childline should not hesitate to move into the area and assist in identifying the abused children who need a lot of assistance for them to open up. This is the only way to rid the area of criminals that are after destroying the future of the girl child.
The children from West Acre like the rest of Zimbabwean children need to be protected against abuse and action should be taken now.
Online Reporter