Back to Index

UNICEF combats child abuse in Zimbabwe
ZimOnline
September 09, 2006

http://www.zimonline.co.za/headdetail.asp?ID=12806

HARARE - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has launched an ambitious programme in Zimbabwe to train teachers to help prevent and detect cases of sexual abuse of children in primary schools.

UNICEF representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe, told the media that his organisation had enlisted the help of 1 200 teachers from around the country to help combat cases of child abuse.

"We want to assist teachers to be more effective facilitators of life skills learning, promote children's ability to say 'no', prevent and detect child abuse, know how to seek action, and to counsel children in need of care and support," said Kavishe.

Kavishe said the HIV/AIDS pandemic which is killing at least 3 000 people every week and the current economic crisis in Zimbabwe had left many children vulnerable to abuse.

Zimbabwe government statistics indicate that there are over a million children who have been orphaned by AIDS in the country while a local child rights group, the Girl Child Network, says at least 6 000 girls were sexually abused last year alone.

Although Zimbabwe has a national curriculum on HIV/AIDS in schools, UNICEF said the programme was not being effectively carried out.

"In part this is due to the intergenerational communication barriers on sex and sex-related issues between teachers and their pupils.

"This is also because the school curriculum is over-loaded and teachers lack the necessary resource materials, motivation and supervision to deliver," said Kavishe. - ZimOnline

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