Punitive sentences needed to combat child sex abuse Ngazimbi Siziba, a 93-year-old granddad from Stanmore in Gwanda, Matabeleland South became Zimbabwe’s oldest rapist after he was jailed for two years for a sex attack on his nine-year-old Grade 2 great granddaughter
Ngazimbi Siziba, a 93-year-old granddad from Stanmore in Gwanda, Matabeleland South became Zimbabwe’s oldest rapist after he was jailed for two years for a sex attack on his nine-year-old Grade 2 great granddaughter

Ngazimbi Siziba, a 93-year-old granddad from Stanmore in Gwanda, Matabeleland South became Zimbabwe’s oldest rapist after he was jailed for two years for a sex attack on his nine-year-old Grade 2 great granddaughter

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
BORN in an impoverished family, raised by her father after losing her mother at the age of four, she has not had the pleasure of experiencing a normal childhood for a 13-year-old girl.

She assumed a motherly role to her three siblings at a tender age by adopting duties of a mother while at the same time she had to maintain the lifestyle of a primary school going child.

As if things could not get any worse she has now become the talk of her community after falling pregnant at such a tender age.

In the midst of the social challenges she was experiencing the girl fell victim to the sexual lusts of her teenage lover.

Ignorant of the consequences that lay ahead, she consented to engage in sexual intercourse after being influenced by this man. In addition to growing up without the experience of enjoying motherly love, assuming a motherly role to her siblings at a tender age-this girl is now faced with a huge burden of mothering a child.

A number of questions linger on one’s mind when thinking of this girl’s predicament — does she know what it means to be a mother, does she know how to raise a baby, who will mentor her under this new role that she has to assume, will she ever become successful in life following this huge setback.

This girl is just but an example of scores of juveniles throughout the country who have been violated sexually.

This girl who is from Khame Village in Bulilima is not alone in this battle to regain her identity and adjust to her new lifestyle.

In another touching incident, an 11-year-old girl from Plumtree was raped several times over a period of two weeks by a man that she does not know after her family’s maid made the arrangement.

The woman, Claret Ndlovu, 30, was given the task to look after the juvenile and her siblings as their mother works in South Africa.

Ndlovu was offering the juvenile for sex to men in exchange for money as she was complaining that her employer was not paying her enough.

The juvenile remained silent about the offence but she was later referred to the hospital by her teacher after complaining of abdominal pains.

Upon being questioned she revealed that Ndlovu was forcing her to have sexual intercourse with men that she did not know. This girl had been violated sexually for a long period of time and she suffered in silence.

Her abusers might have been arrested but the scars will last her a lifetime.

Umuzi Wabancane director general Brett Sibanda said any sexual activity with a juvenile was a form of abuse as they were not mature enough to comprehend the severity of their actions.

“It’s impossible for a grown man to sit down with a juvenile after proposing love to her and then they agree to start a family. Men take advantage of the naivety of children to lure them into bed.

“A juvenile is an immature person who cannot make sound decisions on her own. In some cases juveniles do not think through when making decisions that are sexually related. Therefore whether a child is forced or she consented to sex she becomes a victim in each case,” he said.

Sibanda said it was unfortunate that some grown men were taking advantage of the vulnerable state of juveniles to exploit them sexually.

The child violators chose to mislead juveniles fully aware of the possible damage they were causing in their lives. He said the experience of being exploited sexually left victims deeply scarred.

Juveniles who have gone through the experience of sexual abuse require therapy to help them get their hopes restored.

The executive director for the Women’s Action Group, Edinah Masiyiwa, said some of the victims of sexual abuse became depressed while others failed to pursue their studies.

“Sexual abuse can destroy the life of juveniles. In some cases the girl child can fall pregnant or contract diseases such as HIV or an STI which may haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Other children fail to pursue their studies after they fall pregnant. In some cases a juvenile’s life is lost and even that of her baby because deliveries in under-age children are usually complicated. It’s not ideal for a juvenile to fall pregnant,” she said.

Masiyiwa said these consequences could lead to lifetime depression of a juvenile.

Aspirations of life which juveniles had could become completely shattered after falling victim to sexual abuse.

She said trends today had shown that sexual abuse of a girl child was mostly done by trusted family members.

Masiyiwa said the girl child was now in a great danger because of moral degradation. Children were no longer safe whether at home surrounded by close relatives or outside surrounded by strangers.

It is alarming that the home institution which the girl child is supposed to turn to for protection and safety has become the source of abuse.

Masiyiwa said while the boy child was also at risk of being abused sexually, the girl child was at a higher risk. She said there was need for the girl child to be protected from the harmful environment which she was exposed to within the family and community.

“There is a need for awareness programmes that will raise awareness of the girl child nationwide. The programmes have to reach the children at full capacity despite geographical location so that children can be empowered to protect themselves.

“If the family, school and community set up are not safe for the juvenile she has to be empowered to take her own stand and report when she is sexually abused,” said Masiyiwa.

This was crucial in ensuring that culprits that violated the sexual rights of children were brought to book as families had a tendency of concealing child sexual abuse in a bid to protect relatives.

Masiyiwa said families had to be educated to ensure that they dropped the tendency of protecting culprits in a bid to maintain family relations at the expense of a child’s future. She said if a case of sexual abuse was not reported then it meant that the victim could not access crucial preventive medical treatment like the Post exposure prophylaxis drug which had to be taken within 72 hours to protect against HIV infection.

Some cases were concealed for a very long time and when they finally surfaced the necessary evidence to prove the offence would have been lost.

Women’s Coalition chairperson Virginia Muwanigwa said some of the living conditions that the girl child was exposed to resulted in cases of sexual abuse.

She said some mothers opted to leave their children under the care of male relatives while they went on to work in neighbouring countries.

These relatives who could also include fathers went on to abuse children sexually.

“The living conditions that some children are brought up in later make them victims of sexual abuse. Some parents share a bedroom with juveniles while some guardians leave their children in the care of male relatives and they spend a long time away.

“This increases the chances for children being abused sexually. Some juveniles think that being sexually abused by their guardian or relative is proper just because they look up to those people,” said Muwanigwa.

She said upon losing their spouses some men go on to abuse their biological children. She said some men would take advantage once children are left alone in their custody.

Such cases it took great courage from an empowered child to report the offence or for community members and relatives with knowledge on the matter to expose a culprit.

“Children’s rights activist emphasise that children should be able to talk freely with their guardians about sexually related issues. It’s their right as children to expose sexual violation without being intimidated or hindered,” said Muwanigwa.

The programme officer for Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum on Gender, Walter Vengesayi said there were a number of excuses which child abusers were passing in a bid to justify their actions.

He said his organisation was implementing programmes that sought to promote behaviour change among men.

Vengesayi said some abusers failed to appreciate the criminality of their actions.

“Some perpetrators use traditional beliefs to justify their actions. Some elderly men sleep with juveniles in a bid to acquire wealth. They usually get some of these ideas after consulting traditional healers who go on to mislead them.

“Other perpetrators blame their actions on evil spirits while some believe that they are justified to bed minors if they are in love. A few go on to sight tempting dressing of their victims as an excuse,” said Vengesayi.

He said some young boys who were being exploited by older women saw this act as an achievement which proved their maturity rather than a form of abuse.

“A number of juveniles are being sexually abused almost on a daily basis without being aware that they are being exploited. Some of these victims are not fully aware on what constitutes sexual abuse.

“They rule out actions like being fondled as harmless gestures yet they later lead to rape,” said Vengesayi.

He said his organisation was making several attempts to educate men on the consequences of their criminal activities.

“Just as victims need to be empowered so do potential perpetrators. Hence we educate men on the laws that guard against sexual abuse and consequences of breaking them. If men are educated then they can choose wisely.

“Some of these perpetrators just like victims do not fully comprehend the elements of sexual abuse. In order to change the mindset of men of being sexual monsters we engage their fellow men to be educators and agents of social change,” said Vengesayi.

He said some men believed that their ability to exploit juveniles and even women sexually proved their superiority.

Some elements of sexual abuse were backed by cultural beliefs within society yet they were unlawful.

Vengesayi some of these practices were being implemented and were acceptable within some families which made them noble in the eyes of some perpetrators.

“Some perpetrators have taken sexual abuse as a lifestyle because of their socialisation and upbringing. There are some traditional practices of violating the girl child which have been passed from generation to generation. We live in a patriarchal society where some men think that they are entitled to sexual intercourse at anytime and they cannot accept to be turned down when they want to quench their sexual desires.

“Some men see it as their prerogative to initiate sex and apply force where necessary. They think they are entitled to sexual fulfilment at whatever cost. This is the mindset that we want to eliminate,” he said.

A Bulawayo based lawyer, Lison Ncube, of James Moyo-Majwabu & Nyoni Legal Practitioners said while communities and potential victims had to be educated on sexual abuse there was a need to ensure that perpetrators were brought to book.

He said various institutions played an important rule to ensure that justice prevailed.

The first port of call was the family.

Ncube said the family was the primary pillar as it could help to prevent sexual abuse from occurring through establishing a safe environment for the child.

Ncube said in addition the family was a crucial support base for victim.

“After the family we have institutionalised systems like the police and the judicial system. When matters are brought to their attention from community level we expect these institutions to ensure justice prevails especially the judiciary.

“Punitive sentences are needed that can send a message to other potential perpetrators. A mandatory sentence could be introduced in the long run to ensure that the judicial system made decisions that became a lesson to all,” he said.

Ncube said while some cases of sexual abuse were concealed by families, others failed to see the light of day due to corruption within these crucial institutionalised systems.

Some officers within the victim friendly unit were the first to make fun of victims when they sought their help in reporting incidences.

Other officers were guilty of advising families to resolve cases of sexual abuse which involved relatives without going through the judicial system.

“Some cases are reported but they do not see the light of day due to corruption. Some are delayed on purpose by certain law enforcing authorities and they die a natural death after evidence is tampered with.

“Cases of sexual abuse are backed by medical reports and sometimes medical practitioners are just negligent. They sometimes rush through and compile wrong or inconclusive medical affidavits which later hold no water when presented in courts,” he said.

He said some cases of sexual abuse were brought to courts after being kept a secret for more than 10 years. Ncube said such cases did not see the light of day as the necessary evidence would have lost its value while some culprits would have skipped the country.

“Each person whether be it a child or adult is entitled to their bodily integrity. No one should have their body violated and if this happens to a juvenile then the necessary stakeholders have to play their part and ensure that such issues are severely dealt with,” said Ncube.

You Might Also Like

Comments