|
Back to Index
End
the abuse in Zimbabwe
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF-Zimbabwe)
January
23, 2006
UNICEF "greatly
disturbed" about increasing numbers of reported child sexual abuse
cases. Urges communities to be more vigilant and break the culture
of silence
HARARE -
In the wake of a worsening orphan crisis and accusations this week
against a headmaster who allegedly raped six primary school pupils,
the United Nations Children's Fund today repeated its call for communities
to speak out against all forms of child abuse.
UNICEF said
it was horrified at the continued sexual abuse of children, most
of them primary school pupils, and by those in trusted positions.
Anecdotal evidence from local NGOs and clinics around Harare show
child sexual abuse is rampant. Last year alone, a local NGO recorded
4146 cases of sexual abuse against children in its area of operation
alone.
"This is an
utterly intolerable violation of children's rights," said UNICEF's
Representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "At a time when Zimbabweans
are making phenomenal efforts to absorb more than one million orphans,
there appears a small number who prey on the most vulnerable of
children. It seems that every day there are fresh reports in the
local media about children being abused, sometimes at their schools,
other times by family members, but mostly by figures of authority,
trusted figures. Community leaders need to be explicit in their
condemnation of such abuse."
Despite growing
public concern against child sexual abuse, together with a child
friendly judiciary system in Zimbabwe, reported cases continue to
rise. Recently, school staff members were charged with abusing 52
girls from one boarding primary school near Marondera (just outside
the capital), while in Harare 14 primary school girls were also
allegedly abused by staff members.
UNICEF, in partnership
with Government ministries and several NGOs supports a national
campaign on 'Zero Tolerance Against Child Abuse'. "Zero tolerance
means ending all forms of abuse against children," said Dr Kavishe.
"It means stamping out every horrible facet of child abuse and exploitation."
As part of the
campaign, UNICEF supports the training of trainers' workshops and
community-based education. Participants include government officials,
NGOs, journalists, police and teachers. The children's agency says
it is currently stepping up its work with communities, seeking to
further educate them to spot the signs of child abuse and to tenaciously
protect their children by establishing and supporting functional
child protection committees, where children themselves are represented.
"Community leaders,
teachers, mums and dads – these people are the front line in the
fight against child abuse," said UNICEF's head of child protection,
Jose Bergua. "If perpetrators are going to be stopped, if children
are going to have the confidence to speak out against these evils,
then authority figures need to make it patently clear that child
abuse in their communities will not be stomached. Silence on this
issue shelters the perpetrators and is a crime against children."
UNICEF says
it remains necessary in Zimbabwe to create a culture of prevention
of child abuse, to mobilise public opinion and action, to continue
to disseminate prevention programs, and to encourage the denunciation
of abuse.
UNICEF also
says that children who are raped are the most vulnerable to contracting
HIV/AIDS and the organisation called on all Zimbabweans to vigorously
protect these "invisible children".
"For those children
who suffer abuse, the impact can last a lifetime," added Dr Kavishe.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
