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Virginity Testing and Girl Child Sexual Abuse
Girl Child Network Trust (GCNT)
October 04, 2002

Introduction
Virginity testing must be applauded for being an innovative idea in as far as prevention of HIV/AIDS is concerned, at least at face value. Yes the mathematics is very simple and straight forward in that when one is a virgin then he/she is HIV negative. That is not of course to say sexual intercourse is the only method for the spread of the disease, but this is simply acknowledging that it is the chief method of transmission on top of other minor ones. We referred to the initiative as good at face value because there are a lot of underlying issues to go with to encourage further discussions around them.

To be frank and honest, the virginity testing programme is mired in controversy. This emanates from the very definition of virginity - is it to be a social or biological one. There are hygienic and some physical concerns arising out of the very nature of testing. How is it really done? If it involves insertion of fingers into the vagina then it already falls within the UN definition of child sexual abuse. We must however, at this stage and always acknowledge the virtues and mobility of the idea. We are not advocating its doing away with but we are simply pointing out some issues of major concern. Virginity testing in the eyes of the practitioners, which we are not saying is wrong, is a means to an end but the question is does the end justify the means? In simple we are asking "Does HIV/AIDS prevention justify virginity testing?" If it does then why is it not done on boys as well? Are we not simply perpetuating gender inequalities by taking women as objects of men’s control? Why do we want to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through girls and not boys? These are just questions arising out of this practice which although noble, is just but one of many forms of patriarchal manifestations in our society which are aiding the depressed development of the girl child into a full woman.

We feel if these questions are honestly and objectively addressed, then , we might say at least the program is for the good and betterment of the society. Our worry is with all girls, those found to be virgins and those who ‘fail’ the test. We strongly feel there is a problem in parading the girls with their virginity certificates. Their lives are being risked in the sense that some self styled traditional healers are hunting the headlines for prescribing sex with a virgin as a cure for HIV/AIDS. This harmful practice puts the girl under siege and her being paraded as a virgin is in other words collaborating with the bad apples among the traditional leaders because after the prescription the man now goes to the drug store (venue for virginity testing), to select his dearly labelled medicine (virgin). As a society, we are simply putting the girl child at the risk of abuse. Probably if this was meant to be a marketing strategy, then be rest assured, it was going to be 100% successful because all the girls were going to be purchased.

For those who fail to pass the test, are there measures to ensure that their psycho- emotional needs after are taken care of? What of a girl "innocent" in as far as she is concerned, yet had been raped say at the age of 4. She goes to the test very confident because she has never understood the effect of the abuse at her tender age. Her failure to get a confirmation certificate as a virgin is definitely going to shatter her dreams as she fails to comprehend the real situation she is in. What about the typical labelling and subsequent ostracism she is going to receive from the society. This brings even more trauma to the girl. This might even entail changing the definition of virginity may be to make it more social rather than biological. The focus should not be on one sexual organ but the whole body and the social environment. Virginity should not be about the vagina but the whole person: integrity, empowerment, decision making, welfare, independent thinking, personal health, good diet, shelter, education, in fact the totality of the individual girl child.

The Girl Child and factors putting her at risk
The Director of GCNT was asked to present a paper on the girl child and our findings paint a gloomy picture of the subject under discussion.

The girl is best described by what we see happening to her on a daily basis. She is the one:

• exploited as a source of cheap labour in the urban areas, cities and farming communities
• sexually harassed and abused
• most exploited as a result of poverty and drought in that she is exchanged for food and forced into early marriage as a way of complementing family income
• suffering early pregnancies and marriages
• expected to undergo virginity testing and genital mutilation as a way of pleasing her future husband
• facing physical, economic, emotional violence perpetrated by parents and bullies
• going through psychological torture through forced marriages, rape and sexual harassment
• having to endure hostile school environment with teachers perpetrating sexual violence
• facing victimisation by some local leaders and people in influential positions
• with a limited horizon because she is not given the opportunity to pursue her education due to economic and social restraints.

We are in agreement with abstinence but is this realistic given the above incredible findings which are further confirmed by the following situations which occurred in Rusape?

• The youngest sexually abused girls in Rusape are aged three
• The youngest married girl aged 12 lost both parents
• Eight girls aged 14 years and below were sexually enslaved by self professed traditional healer. One of the sexually abused girl is mentally disturbed. The known perpetrator is still at large.
• Another girl who belongs to Vaposotri is married to a 50 year old man in Chinhenga area
• We are about to unearth a case of a father who has sexually enslaved her daughter for the past three years. Community is scared to report to police.
• A girl aged 14 now was sexually enslaved for two years by her grandfather up until this year. The grandfather is out of custody on $300 bail.
• A girl aged 12 was raped by her brother-in-law i.e sister’s husband who is still on the run.
• Girl aged 9 was sexually abused and contracted an STI
• Girls between fourteen and fifteen are in large numbers

The list goes on. There is not much we could have done to arrest the situation unless the community gets educated and the chief gives instant justice because with regional courts congested as they seem now it may be difficult to bring child rapists to book. And my big question is: Are these girls here able to resist and prevent rape now that a lot more men know they have what they are looking for - VIRGINITY.

Now as for the food for thought

• What mechanisms have we put in place to protect girl children at risk falling victim to rape in their own homes?
• What is the Chief saying about those men who stole the girls` virginity who might have wanted to remain virgins?
• At the moment the men are out of custody and most probably abusing a lot more girls not so empowered to report or open up. What should we do to arrest the situation?
• What about the emotional trauma of failing to pass the test because one was abused or one was forced to marry say at 13 and like any other girl they want to be part of the Mhandara days?
• Since we want to see more virgins, can a man be allowed to marry a girl aged 16 and below as we have seen in several villages and it appears this is viewed as a cultural norm?

With the full knowledge that we are not in existence to cause antagonism between us and the chief we need to reflect on the following issues with positive minds

• Harmonisation of strategy with regards to elimination of various forms of sexual abuse. We propose that we do away with physical testing and rather find other ways that allows virginity discussion
• Why are perpetrators out of custody and why have they been let to victimise and displace survivors of rape after being granted bail? There is need for instant justice especially by the chief on the grounds that men should be severely punished for depriving girls of their virginity
• What happens in terms of compensation to those girls who lost their dignity and pride through rape? What is our criteria of a virgin if one is a rape victim at say three years?
• Are those proved to be virgins then fall victim to rape prepared psychologically?

We wish to propose the following to the chief and his council

• There is an urgent need to set up a committee to track down perpetrators of rape who are on the run. The police can help provide a list of rapists still at large. We need to do this because research has shown that a child molester can molest up to 200 children in his life time. If there are say 100 rapists still at large this program has awakened them to start hunting for virgins.
• We need to redefine umhandara (virginity) from a human rights point of view given the fact that 1 in every 4 cases of rape is not reported due to various factors. Umhandara or virginity should not be defined from just one sexual organ. It should be holistically defined and renamed as a whole socially, economically and politically empowered girl child who asserts her position in society as a healthy and mentally stable person. This is so because there are many factors at play that can undermine the reproductive health of the girl child .
• Women and girls are uncomfortable with men leading this program. Traditionally it is well accepted but it would be better for girls themselves to be the decision makers in this program. Not to say the chief ‘s role is bad but maybe for example my background of being in an all girls schools has made me uncomfortable discussing any of my sexual organs in greater detail in the presence of men. Actually at a certain Roman Catholic school I attended before one washed her sexual organ it was a must to first clap hands because this was a temple of the Lord. I know some people are comfortable having people know what their sexual organs are but with me it seems I am not.
• Virginity is such a matter of flesh, soul and everything. Parading girls or media publicity may not be the right thing to do as this may bring this program into disrepute. Last time the media coverage was okay but getting something as delicate and confidential as girls receiving virginity certificates with a media splash may lead to misinterpretations, distortions, deletions and wrong additions of one’s views leading to negative publicity. We need to know exactly what we have to say to the general public. This also applies to other programs like beauty contests and the like which parade girls as sex objects and demean them to a level where everyone boy, man etc think that to be a girl who has achieved something in life is to be paraded in media as the most beautiful sex object. Surely girls need enough coverage on other development programs other than those to do with their female organs and outside beauty only. A lot has been accomplished in the girls` development work and this needs equal publicity. Why is it we see great men in sport, leadership roles etc through media more than we see their female counterparts?
• The social, economic, and political situation of girls need improvement. Such factors as poverty , environment, religious and cultural practices put the girl child at risk. We need to urgently find out what it is we can do to minimise girls falling victim to abuse due to the above factors.
• There are some men some of them who regularly attend this program who are looking for virgins as prescribed by some false witch doctors. If we say names of those girls who would have passed the virginity we will put the girls at risk. We should not say the names of those girls out for every one out there to know because our records show that everyone of us is a potential child sexual abuser. We know that for certain some men with respectable positions have been following this program with keen interest so that they know where the virgins are.

Conclusion

Our View On "Virginity" As sexually abused girls
We are an organisation that has extensively worked with girls aged 0 to 16 since 1998 and given the facts and some figures we have on child sexual abuse we want to safely conclude that at this day and age the word virginity needs revisiting with a view to assisting the many victims of child sexual abuse may of whom languish in pain with unreported cases. To us having been involved in the rehabilitation of child sexual abuse victims and most of us involved in this having fallen victim to the same abuse we are traumatised to think about virginity. We get a feeling of self blame, as if one called to be sexually abused, most of us feel dirty, filthy, dejected, unholy, worthless and anything that brings a less than human being. We feel anger, lonely, suicidal, and we seem left out and totally neglected.

To us virginity means nothing except something that you are innocently deprived of and something even if you want to control you cannot do so. We see this as something that gives men power and control over us. Something that defines that they are men and we are women. We feel pain inside and hate men and sex. We feel patriarchy entrenched in virginity in that every man wants to see it on the first day of marriage but most of them don’t have it. We feel there is no law that punishes those who break innocent girls` virginity yet every men is told we have it.

We see virginity as something that disempowers us to have a say on our sexual organs. Men have a say because they can choose whoever they can sleep with at any given time and a lot of times without condoms.

We feel again that testing it on us is not that fair without bringing to book those who hurt us to a level we feel less than human beings. Some cases take at least two years to be heard in the courts and these days with HIV/AIDS we die before justice is done and then the men live on and rape other girls. We see virginity through those who have it and receive certificates. We still value our sexual integrity though and feel pain not to be like other girls of our age. That is why we want the chief to punish those who hurt and continue to hurt us. Why not a program to track down those who rape girl children first as there are a lot more victims even after testing? It is just like HIV/AIDS testing - negative now but positive anytime from there on.

We are healing and walking in the fullness of our potential as women and girls. But mind you it hurts to be hurt. No good medicine can cure a psychological problem such as given through rape.

We totally shrink to hear about virginity testing as this further hurts us. So we live in our little Island called Rusape Girls Empowerment Village. It gives us a sense of belonging as we heal through others like us. This is not to say there are all bad sides of virginity testing but to just alert you that many more girls have a lot to learn from us since we know the environment is hostile to afford a girl child her reproductive rights.

We have to be excused sometimes for being emotional but this arises out of our concern over the issues we have herein raised. We make these recommendations and suggestions in the hope that they are going to be taken into consideration and more relevant and effective measures of curbing HIV/AIDS be introduced which do not continue to suppress and oppress the girl child.

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