Editorial Comment: Let’s curb child sexual abuse

WHEN parents, guardians, teachers or those on whom authority has been entrusted to superintend over children abuse that trust to prey on innocent minors, society surely feels betrayed. A disturbing trend of the sexual abuse of children is emerging in this country and we should bow our heads down in collective shame for allowing this vice to take root in our society.
Sex predators and other paedophiles are sick individuals who should be removed from society and incarcerated to protect the weak and vulnerable whom they prey upon. The term sexual predator is used pejoratively to describe a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically “predatory” manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to “hunt” for his or her sex partners. People who commit sex crimes, such as rape or child sexual abuse, are commonly referred to as sexual predators.

In the same vein, a paedophile is a person who is primarily or exclusively sexually attracted to children who have not begun puberty (girls 10 years old or less, and boys 11 years old or less, on average). The prepubescent child must be at least five years younger than the person in the case of adolescent paedophiles before the attraction can be diagnosed as paedophilia.

Since the beginning of the year, we have reported on numerous cases of child sexual abuse and in most of these incidents, the perpetrators have been adults who are known to the victims and were people whom they held in high esteem and trusted. It appears we have a serious problem of sex predators and paedophiles in this country and it’s time we did something about it. In developed countries, they have registers of known sex predators and paedophiles who are constantly monitored and removed from environments where they could abuse children. Because there is no known cure for their perverted conditions, the best way to deal with them is to make sure they don’t come into contact with children. Medically, their condition is classified as a mental disorder.

In Zimbabwe, the sexual abuse of children also has a cultural and traditional angle. Some sex fiends shamefully hide behind traditional healers’ advice to justify their sickening attacks on minors. Inyangas are known to prescribe bizarre cures for certain ailments such as sexually transmitted infections. We have reported of cases where HIV positive people have alleged that an inyanga told them to sleep with a virgin or a child to rid them of the virus. This is wrong and we should put a stop to it.

Only last week, a teacher at Inyathi Primary school was arraigned before the courts accused of sodomising 10 pupils. Nkosiyazi Sibanda pleaded guilty to 15 counts of aggravated indecent assault and is spinning an outlandish story of how he was abducted and injected with an unknown substance that made  him lose desire for women and instead crave sex with boys. Two of his victims sustained damaged sphincters, causing them to soil themselves.

In another case, we reported yesterday of a 65-year-old man who was jailed for 20 years for a string of sex attacks on a girl, 16. Neil Leach, of Suburbs in Bulawayo, used his residence as a boarding house for four pupils attending Girls College also in Bulawayo and betrayed the trust of his victim, a Form Four pupil, and her parents who live in Zambia, to sexually abuse her on three occasions. The court heard that he on several occasions inserted his fingers into the girl’s privates and would force her to perform sickening sex acts on him with her mouth. Passing sentence, Bulawayo regional magistrate told Leach: “The community expected better of you. You betrayed the trust bestowed on you by the victim’s parents and the community when you abused the victim who looked up to you for protection.

“The girl was under your care, which effectively means there was supposed to be that protective relationship between you and her in the absence of her parents who live in Zambia.”

While deterrent sentences like the one meted out to Leach are welcome, we believe society can do more. Sexual abuse of children can be prevented by ensuring that minors are not exposed to it. Parents should ensure that their children are not left at the mercy of male relatives or strangers. Awareness campaigns on child sex abuse should also be intensified in schools so that children can report offenders promptly. Parents and guardians should also be on the lookout for the warning signs of abuse in their children so that they take corrective action quickly.