The wily guise of child sexual abuse (Part 7)

Dr Josephine Shambare
Correspondent
In Shona they say ‘Igarauzive kuti amai mukadzi wababa’ literally meaning ‘It is indisputable that my mother is my father’s wife’. It is also an indisputable fact that every person in this world is related to some child as an older sibling, biological parent, guardian, grandparent, uncle, aunt, neighbour, teacher, doctor or caregiver; the list is endless.

This therefore follows that at one point in one’s life journey, one is likely to encounter, and be deeply touched by an incident that befalls some child who is dear or familiar to oneself; because by nature children are vulnerable members of society, and because of their developmental susceptibility, they need unique protection.

In Zimbabwe, Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) has become a growing concern with barely a day passing without a child being abused as reported in the print and electronic media; or being handled by the police, traditional leaders and other key stakeholders. Informal reports on CSA are also abound in hushed voices, by madziro committees (street lingo for gossipers seated by house walls at functions and events such as funeral wakes).

You will hear them say, “Baba avo vane shati chena vakadzinga mukadzi zvino mwana wavo ane makore mashanu ndiye ave mukadzi”. (That man in a white shirt is sleeping with his five-year old daughter after chasing away his wife).

Sexual abuse perpetrated by males and females alike is threatening the well-being of not only the girl-child but the boy-child as well, resultantly blighting the children’s bright future.

Section 81 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment Number 20) Act 2013, defines a child as ‘every boy or girl under the age of eighteen years. To complement the definition of a child, the Zimbabwean traditional culture considers an array of qualitative dimensions such as biological, physical, mental and social maturity.

It also places high value on the child as depicted in several local languages, folktales, proverbs, songs and idioms such as; mwana ndishe (a child is king), chirere mangwana chigokurerawo (look after the child, for tomorrow he/she will in turn look after you).

As a nation, we subscribe to the unhu/ubuntu philosophy that embodies virtues such as humanness, mutual social responsibility, mutual assistance, trust, sharing, unselfishness, collectiveness, caring and respect for others; among others. Traditionally, we also have self-policing methods that include the use of totems (mitupo in Shona or izibongo in Ndebele) and various notions such as umuntu kasizaleli umtwana (one does not bear a child for himself/herself alone); umtwana ngowesizwe in Ndebele and mwana ndowe munhu wose in Shona, literally meaning ‘the child belongs to everybody’.

It therefore baffles the mind why one would depart from our societal norms and values where cases of CSA are taboo.

Professor Geoff Feltoe (1991) best describes CSA as “the involvement of children in sexual activities that they do not fully understand and/or for which they are not physically and emotionally ready”. In the same vein, UNICEF (2003) views CSA as ‘contacts or interactions between a child and an older or more knowledgeable child or adult (a stranger, sibling or person in position of authority, a parent or a caretaker), with the child being used as an object of gratification for the older child’s or adult’s sexual needs’.

This bodes well with various tradition and cultural notions which depict a child as a very delicate and extremely important element of society requiring care and protection from social ills such as sexual abuse. The popular Shona idiom ‘Regai dzive shiri mazai haana muto’ literally meaning ‘Let them grow into birds first for eggs cannot give a meaningful meal with soup’ is quite relevant in this case imploring older people to desist from having sexual relations with children for two reasons: the first being that children are vulnerable and ‘as fragile as eggs’; and the second being that, children are immature to engage in inappropriate sexual conduct.

It is therefore important for any person in charge of a child; and respects its well-being, to be able to identify and take action against CSA which is not a single offence, but an embodiment of a number of offences under Zimbabwe’s Criminal law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23. Therefore, CSA constitutes any inappropriate actions by an adult person or older child as in following examples:

Touching of a child’s anatomical private parts

Raping a child

Viewing the nakedness of a child

Using children in sex work

Allowing children to enter brothels

A child touching the adult person’s or older child’s anatomical private parts

A child viewing the nakedness of an adult or older child

A child’s anatomical private parts penetrating an adult’s or older child’s anatomical private parts

Owner of a place permitting a person under eighteen years to resort to his/her place for the purposes of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct.

Use of children in pornographic performances, production, and distribution of CSA exploitation materials through the internet (Online Child Sexual Abuse usually by paedophiles)

It has been observed that the vulnerability of children is mainly due to the tender age factor, speech and hearing impairment, mental challenges, easy access to them through unlocked doors; and left unattended at home or other places.

It is therefore imperative that responsible parents, guardians, relatives and citizens join hands with the police and key stakeholders to fight the scourge of Child Sexual Abuse as the crime is listed as one of Zimbabwe’s top ten crimes of concern in policing.

Dr Josephine Shambare writes on social issues for entertainment and awareness, in her own capacity. Excerpts are taken from her unpublished autobiography; and PhD thesis: ‘The Enigma of Child Sexual Abuse in the Zimbabwean context: Beyond Statistics’