New Bill  okays  early sex…Don’t punish kids who indulge, it proposes Ms Jessie Majome

JESSIE-MAJOMEPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
THE new General Laws Amendment Bill recognises early sexual activities by children under the age of 16 as it is proposing that they should not be prosecuted for having sex with each other.

Gweru residents yesterday immediately blasted the bill saying the age of sexual consent should be raised to 18 years.

In their submissions to the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Portfolio Committee on the General Laws Amendment Bill and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill during a public hearing at the Gweru Theatre, residents said it was uncultural, inhuman and unAfrican to allow children under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activities without getting punished.

The chairperson of the committee, Jessie Majome, said: “We’re here to get your views. The General Laws Amendment Bill will not prosecute boys under 16 who engage in sexual intercourse with girls under that age.”

She said Section 70 of the Code (sexual intercourse or performing indecent acts with young persons) prevents the sexual exploitation of young persons.

“It however recognises sexual intercourse between young persons under the age of 16. It’s implicit from the wording of this section that only adults may be prosecuted for this crime, because the subject of the crime is a ‘person’ and its object is a “young person” (defined in section 61 of the Code as a person below the age of 16).

“However, it’s in society’s interests to protect all young persons from being “’’sexualised” prematurely, regardless of whether the perpetrator is, for instance, a boy of 15 who has “consensual” sexual intercourse with a girl of 13,” Majome said.

“Where two young persons aged between 12 and 16 engage in sexual intercourse or an indecent act, it’s proposed that neither of them should be prosecuted for the crime of sexual intercourse or performing an indecent act with a young person, unless the report of a probation officer finds that it’s proper to prosecute one of them for the offence.”

In this regard, residents said the Bill should not be passed if the above section was not amended.

Apostle Linos Nyerenga, who did not state the name of his church, said sexual consent should be allowed at the age of 18.

He said it was sad to note that society wanted to acknowledge early sex but that would result in the country raising spoilt children.

“Our children will lack discipline, once they start engaging in sex they’ll not stop and we can’t allow that. We’ve a testimony at our church where there is a 12-year-old girl who can’t sit straight on a chair. So we asked her what was wrong and she indicated that she was being sexually abused by her 16-year-old uncle. The girl is still young and small in stature and mind. We can’t allow such heinous acts,” said Apostle Nyerenga.

Precious Mujere from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said girls were starting their menstruation cycle at the age of 12 and by not punishing boys who indulge in sexual intercourse with them, the country would see a surge in teenage pregnancies and unwanted babies.

“If we agree to this we are promoting early pregnancies, early child births and early marriages. So perpetrators should be brought to book,” she said.

Cornelius Selipiwe, the Gweru Workers Committee spokesperson, said children should be disciplined from an early age if they are found engaging in sexual activities.

He said with the coming in of Information Communication Technology, today’s girl child should be protected from abuse even by boys of the same age.

Selipiwe said society should not condone such acts which he said would result in a generation with loose morals.

A resident who identified himself as J B Tshuma said the age of consent should be raised to 18.

The General Laws Amendment Bill (H.B. 3 – 2015) seeks to amend 126 statutes in order to align them with the new Constitution. Major statutes to be amended under this Bill are the Electoral Amendment Act, Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act, Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Interpretation Act and Trademarks Act.

Key issues that the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill (H.B. 2 – 2015) is seeking to address are; rights of arrested people, private prosecution, police powers in relation to arrest, use of force, search and seizure, death penalty, bail and sentencing.

On Monday, Bulawayo residents told the same public hearing that the death penalty should be scrapped from the country’s statutes.

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