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The preliminary report shows that of the child abuse cases, rape constituted the highest percentage of reported abuse. These revelations are shocking and need the nation, from Government, teachers, parents churches, civil society and all concerned stakeholders to work together and put a stop to these heinous crimes.
According to the Zimstat and Unicef findings, most of the girls aged 12 and above were sexually abused in the homes of their peers and boyfriends. Girls aged below 12 were mostly abused at their homes. Children aged between 13 and 16 made up close to 50 percent of the cases with over 70 percent of all abuse happening in urban areas.
These findings show that our children are not safe in our homes, in the neighbourhoods where we live, at schools, in church, in commuter omnibuses and on the streets. Cases have been reported in the media of relatives and neighbours raping girls left in their custody. At schools teachers also account for a number of these cases while strangers on the streets have their fair share.
Pupils finding their way to and from school are also at the mercy of rogue commuter omnibus crews. Some pastors have been on the wrong side of the law for abusing children in their churches. This clearly shows that our children have nowhere to hide because they can be attacked anywhere. More than 90 percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators were men and the average age perpetrator was 22.
Of the abused children only 2,4 percent received support and care with 97,6 percent not receiving any form of treatment.
Parents, teachers and the church should play a role and educate children that they should stay away from relationships while they are still at school. We are of course cognisant of the fact that they could still fall prey to strangers or relatives but engaging in relationships when as young as 12 exposes them to greater risk of being abused while precautionary measures can be taken to deal with strangers and relatives.
Children must be taught to completely stay away from strangers and never leave children in the company of relatives whose conduct you are not sure of. Survivors of abuse reported that they had a pre-existing relationship with the perpetrators in most of the cases. The children reported that the sexual abuse occurred more than once in over 40 percent of the cases.
Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera described the statistics as terrible and there could be no better word. We urge Government to move with speed and ensure that Child Friendly Clinics are established at every school and hospital.
More cases could be going unreported. The harrowing statistics on sexual, physical and emotional violence against children and the problems they cause in the lives of the children are just too ghastly to contemplate. Adults who experienced abuse or neglect in their childhood are more likely to suffer from physical ailments such as allergies, arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, high blood pressure and ulcers. We must act and act now as a nation to protect our children.
Online Reporter