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Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
THE majority of sexual abuse cases in Bulawayo involve children, some aged below five years, statistics from the National Aids Council (NAC) show.

Sexual violence which disturbs the development of children and can lead to lifelong consequences is most prevalent in females than males putting them at high risk of HIV.

In terms of the law, there are various types of sexual abuse ranging from indecent assault to rape.

The National Baseline Survey on the Life Experiences of Adolescents of 2011 concluded that almost one third of females and one in ten males aged 18 to 24 years reported experiencing sexual violence during childhood in Zimbabwe.

According to the latest quarterly report on Bulawayo, 59 percent of the total abuse cases reported in the city were from girls aged between 10 and 14 years.

“The province recorded more sexual violence cases in the young people in the 10-14 and the 15-19 age groups who make up 59 percent of the total abuse cases. Of particular concern is the number of under-fives who are sexually abused who make up 14.8 percent of the total number of abuse cases reported,” the report said.

“A total of 257 sexual abuse cases were reported in Bulawayo and males only constituted eight percent of the reported cases. Thirty-four girls aged below 5 years were sexually abused though a majority of the cases were from the 10 to 14 years age group where 63 cases were recorded.”

NAC said most sexual violence cases are reported at hospitals under the sexual violence programme.

The same report showed access to post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) still remains low at 18 percent for the males and 21 percent for the females. Of the reported cases, about 69,6 percent of them were tested for HIV with a 2,8 percent positivity rate. Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said members of the public should desist from leaving their children unattended.

“There are some cases where children are sent to neighbours and abused in the process. Children should only be left with trusted relatives and we encourage that girls should be only left with women as relatives cannot be trusted these days,” said Insp Ncube.

“Parents should also befriend their children so that they can open up freely whenever they are abused. We also encourage them to be particular especially during this Covid-19 lockdown as paedophiles take advantage of children who like playing away from elders.”

Childline has also concern over an increase in the number of online crimes being perpetrated against children. The organisation now runs programmes on online safety born out of the realisation that Zimbabwe is part of the global village where technology is a major player and crimes against children are moving from the physical space to the virtual space.

It says parents buy children gadgets to use but don’t take time to check what they watch or even who they communicate with online.

A fact sheet compiled by Parliament of Zimbabwe’s research department says teachers happen to be among the main perpetrators of child abuse. It said some teachers rape their pupils while others abused minors  though writing love letters, fondling, kissing or hugging, attempted rape and showing pornographic material.-@thamamoe