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One case of child abuse reported every hour in Zimbabwe
UNICEF-Zimbabwe
November 19,
2006
A coalition
of key Zimbabwean child protection groups will on Sunday join the
rest of the world in aggressively condemning all forms of child
abuse, as alarming new data reports a child being abused every single
hour in Zimbabwe.
Sunday is the
‘World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse’. This year’s theme
is "Together for a culture of prevention". The event,
now in its sixth year, is well-timed, as cases of abuse against
Zimbabwean children appear to be spiraling out of control.
New data states
that more than 8600 cases of child abuse were reported in Zimbabwe
in 2005. That is 24 every day, or one every hour. More than half
of all cases reported involve sexual abuse of children.
Announcing the
new figures, the Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) said three
critical steps needed to be taken to prevent child abuse in Zimbabwe:
- Government
and civil society must be galvanized, and nationwide prevention
programmes need to be dramatically stepped up
- Parents,
guardians and teachers need to ensure a protective environment
for children, and be vigilant in detecting and preventing all
forms of child abuse. Lifeskills programmes must be developed
to empower children.
- Traditional
and religious leaders must be unequivocal in their condemnation
of child abuse. They must lead by example and voice.
Marking the
‘World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse’ the CPWG said Zimbabwe’s
children were under siege, with child abuse being aggravated by
myths whereby people believe their sexually transmitted diseases,
including AIDS, can be ‘cured’ by having sex with a virgin.
"This is
the most repulsive of myths," said the Director of Girl
Child Network, Betty Makoni, one of the members of the Child
Protection Working Group. "It needs to be exposed by every
community in every corner of the country. The time has come for
all Zimbabweans to speak out and act against the abuse of our country’s
children."
The World Day
for the Prevention of Child Abuse is aimed at providing children
and families with skills and resources they need to prevent child
abuse, to cope with effects and end such practices.
Said the Child
Protection Working Group: "Enough is enough! Traditional and
religious leaders, teachers, mums and dads are the front line in
the fight against child abuse. If perpetrators are going to be stopped,
and they must be stopped, if children are going to have the confidence
to speak out against these evils, and they must have the confidence,
then these 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."
All children
who are abused risk long-term repercussions, including psychological
and emotional scarring and stigmatization. Children who are sexually
abused are also the most vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS. The
impact can, therefore, quite literally last a lifetime and be fatal.
"Are Zimbabweans
really horrified by these statistics?" asked another member
of the Child Protection Working Group, Childline’s Director, Audrey
Gumbo. "Are we really being jolted into action? Because this
is what is needed – action! Action by chiefs to speak out firmly
against all forms of child abuse and to lead by example, action
by religious leaders to firmly denounce child abuse to their congregations,
action by guardians to be vigilant in their protection of children,
action by communities to flush out perpetrators at every opportunity,
and action by Government to be vocal and persistent in their condemnation
of child abuse and to ensure that Zimbabwe’s existing child laws
are vigorously enforced."
In the first
nine months of this year, Childline reported more than 34,000 calls
(or more than five every hour) on children’s issues. The organization
says that 70% of the calls received are related to child abuse.
The Child Protection
Working Group is a network of NGOs, Community Based Organisations,
Faith Based Organisations, UN agencies and the Government of Zimbabwe.
It was established in July 2002 in response to the humanitarian
crisis. Since then CPWG members have been meeting on a monthly basis
to share their experiences, good practices and key lessons learnt
on various child protection interventions. These include: prevention
of child abuse, OVC programming, birth registration, children in
residential care, children with disabilities and child labour. The
CPWG, in partnership with Government ministries, supports a national
campaign on ‘Zero Tolerance Campaign Against Child Abuse’.
"Child
abuse 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. Every day there are fresh
reports in the local media about children being abused, sometimes
at their schools, other times by family members, but almost always
by figures of authority, trusted figures.
"Community
leaders must play a central role in stopping child abuse,"
continued Dr Kavishe. "Fears of reprisal and families’ willingness
to reach settlements deepen a culture of silence and enable the
problem to fester undetected and unreported. For the sake of Zimbabwe,
this simply cannot continue."
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