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WASN condemns abuse of school girls
Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN)
By Matilda Moyo
November 20, 2002

The Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN), deplores actions of continued child sexual abuse in schools, which are escalating at an unprecedented level and placing girls at higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

We note with grave concern, the intensification of such incidents, despite the work that has been done by various organisations in conscientising society at large and the authorities on the seriousness of child sexual abuse and the vulnerability of girls.

We refer to the article in The Herald of Monday, November 18, 2002, where a deputy headmaster at Marimba Park Primary School allegedly raped a 13-year old girl and has been accused of sexually abusing four other girls at the same school.

As girls are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and subsequently HIV infection, we feel that they require a great deal of protection from leaders at various levels, including those in the school environment where girls spend most of their time.

We believe that this incident is just a tip of the iceberg and there are numerous such occurrences that are going unreported for various reasons such as the disempowerment of the girl child through socialisation.

To this end, we urge authorities, such as the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture and that of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to work together in introducing stringent measures that will ensure the protection of the girl child, so that she can enjoy her education and other opportunities in life.

This means taking extreme measures such as screening male teachers before they are sent to schools where there are girls, to ensure that there is no room for paedophiles in schools.

We are unhappy with the current tendency of transferring abusive teachers to another school, let alone allowing them to resume their normal duties as was the case in The Herald story. We feel that teachers with a history of sexually abusing children should not be accommodated in the education system and those who are caught abusing children should be dismissed immediately.

The process of investigating cases of abuse is long and tedious, while some headmasters would rather protect their school’s reputation at the expense of the girl child’s rights by sweeping such cases under the carpet.

To this end, we join the rest of the women’s coalition members and progressive male organisations such as Padare Men’s Forum on Gender, in calling for stiffer sentences not only for this particular deputy head, but for paedophiles in general.

We feel that too much has been taken for granted on the issue of sexual abuse hence the need to urgently address the problem before the population of girls is decimated by HIV as a result of lecherous men who cannot control their lust and vent it out on innocent girls that have been entrusted to their care.

We also feel that communities, schools and people who deal with girl children should increase efforts in empowering these girls so that they can protect themselves from abuse.

The communities need to create a conducive environment for the girls by supporting and respecting them and their rights, while ensuring that they enjoy their full sexual and reproductive health and rights as they grow.

For this reason, WASN has produced a reproductive health package, specifically designed to empower girls by equipping them with information on their sexual, reproductive health and rights. This should enable them to better handle problems and situations that are either culturally, physically, psychologically or economically embedded.

We urge schools and organisations to take advantage of these booklets and make them accessible to the girls so that they can play their part in protecting themselves. This should complement efforts by the authorities in creating a conducive atmosphere for girls to experience normal growth.

Visit the WASN fact sheet

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