Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu
A 14-YEAR-OLD Gwanda girl who was living in fear after being raped several times and threatened by a family member has been placed in a safe home.
The girl who missed out on school for a year is now doing Form One at a local school following the intervention of the Department of Social Welfare.
She is also receiving counselling to help her deal with the trauma.
The girl was allegedly raped by her father at the age of nine on several occasions while she was staying with him in Mberengwa in the Midlands province.
She was taken in by her aunt who lives in West Nicholson in Matabeleland South province but she was raped again by a family member who was also staying there.
During the ordeal, her abuser would hold a knife to her throat and threaten to kill her if she revealed the matter.
Her family found two suicide notes in which she narrated her anguish, after suffering in silence for several months.
The teenager’s father is at large. Her other assailant was arrested, appeared in court and granted bail.
Her family decided to engage the Department of Social Welfare after realising the post traumatic effects that were still haunting her.
Her aunt used to find her crying and she would appear seemingly shaken.
Matabeleland South provincial social welfare officer, Mr Criswell Nyakudya said the teenager has been placed in safe home to help her recover from the ordeal.
“We acted swiftly after the matter was reported to us. After engaging the family, we learnt that the girl hadn’t attended school for the whole of 2022. We put her in a safe home and we also enrolled her at a local school where she is doing her Form 1,” he said.
“She is receiving professional counselling in order to help her recover from the ordeal. Being in a safe home will help her to receive the appropriate and professional care.
“It’s important for a child to be removed from an environment where she was abused as part of the healing process. If she is likely to meet the perpetrator, the more the reason why she needs to be removed.”
Mr Nyakudya said the fact that the teenager was contemplating suicide was an indication that the trauma she had experienced was severe.
He said allowing her to remain in that traumatic environment was only going to damage her more. — @DubeMatutu
Online Reporter