Upsurge of incest cases worrying

Vaidah Mushangwa
IN almost every society there are basic rules that govern sexual access to an individual. In Zimbabwe, one of the worst forms of sexual exploitation is that between parents and children or siblings. This is referred to as incest. Whether this is done out of sexual greed or lack of control of one’s desires, anthropologists and students of sexual behaviour have also failed to understand such loathsome behaviour.

Research has failed to come up with an explanation on how a father or mother can be attracted to his own daughter or son. While there are general explanations on how fathers can be quite close to their daughters and vice versa, still the idea of turning one’s own daughter into a sexual object is hard to believe.

Just like domestic violence, cases that involve incest go unreported because of threats and fear by the usually young daughters to report their fathers. Parents should not take advantage of the close contact that exists between themselves and their children to sexually exploit their own daughters and sons.

It is documented that human beings raised together have less sexual attraction for one another. One therefore cannot be attracted to one’s own children. What is surprising though is that of late the print media has been awash with stories of incest.

It is estimated that globally 10-14 percent of our children under 18 years of age have been involved in incestuous relations. These figures are rather too high and it is one area where parents should ensure the safety and security of children when they are away from home.

Our sister paper The Herald recently published a story of a 14-year-old who was caught by the mother wearing a condom and dangling his manhood in front of his young sister.

A long time ago, l remember vividly that brothers and sisters would actually share the same hut and blankets without any problem. Boys and girls too used to swim together almost naked in the same river and place. Such acts have taken a twist with very young children engaging in sexual activities.

A young woman once narrated how her father forced her to sleep with him after the death of the mother and she confessed having borne two children to the father and one of them is disabled. She pointed out that the father had threatened her with an unspecified witchcraft act if she dared report. On persuading her to report she refused and reporting on her behalf was fruitless as she left her usual place of residence to stay with an aunt elsewhere. This is also indicative of diminishing roles of aunts in our society today.

In Rusape, a five-year-old girl was infected with HIV by her father after the death of her mother. Every night the father would call her when the older brother was asleep and sexually abuse her. She was saved by neighbours who reported the man’s dastardly act to the police. By that time she had developed sores around her genital area.

Incest is a crime and therefore if reported, it can protect children against sexual advances by older members of the family. Biologically preferences for a genetically different mate tend to maintain a higher level of genetic diversity within a population.

Animals such as chimpanzees tend to avoid in-breeding between siblings and between females and their male offspring. If animals can avoid incestuous relationships what then can stop human beings from practising the same.

In Roman Egypt, though brother-sister relationships existed and these were meant to prevent fragmentation of a family’s property and holdings. This is where the diversity of culture comes in. There are also cases where cousins marry each other. In Zimbabwe it is actually taboo and against the law.

It is unfortunate that recently, sexual activity has become imbedded in layers of cultural, moral and superstitious superstructures that it is hard to conceive it in its simplest terms. Witchcraft and the desire by some people to get rich have all been associated with sex nowadays, including incest.

Adherence to n’angas or witchdoctors who claim that Aids and wealth can be cured or accumulated respectively by having sex with a minor or one’s own child has caused so much discourse and confusion into an already debatable subject.

If it is a means of getting satisfaction, can satisfaction be justified by bringing suffering and diseases to one’s offspring? It is high time parents re-examine their roles and ensure that the correct moral values are inculcated in the minds of their children. A child who is exposed to neglect, violence and abuse will grow up and value the same ideas.

Redefining sexual activity and giving it a new meaning in order for someone to sexually please himself or herself at the expense of someone’s vulnerability is bad. Sexual activity is done to reproduce, to love or be loved and to communicate with one’s partner. None of these functions can be fulfilled when it comes to incest because a father cannot expect to reproduce with his offspring. Parents who are irresponsible and are a failure in terms of the upbringing of their own children cannot expect society to do better. Sexual urges and desires are part of nature but one has to know where these should be directed to. This can be likened to eating habits which are also considered to be part of our nature. Eating habits have to be controlled because we cannot simply eat whatever we feel like whenever we want to. The reason is that we are consistently reminded that we have to eat the correct food from a nutritional stand point.

Sexual desires directed to our own children are a divergence from the norm, culture and our moral values as a Zimbabwean people.

Vaidah Mashangwa is the provincial development officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs Gender and Community Development Officer. She can be contacted on 0772 111 592 |09|889224 or email [email protected].