Relatives, guardians nailed in 70pc of rape cases
File pic from examiner.com.

File pic from examiner.com.

Ruth Butaumocho
Gender Editor
MORE than 70 percent of reported cases of sexual abuse of girls below the ages of 16 are perpetrated by relatives, guardians and neighbours of the victims, police have said.From the reported cases, the most affected age group was 7-12 years, usually made up of girls in primary school and in need of parental guidance.

While some of the reported cases were still before the courts, others have since been concluded with perpetrators now serving varying sentences.

Speaking at the launch of a campaign against sexual abuse and rape of children in Harare recently, Assistant Commissioner Isabella Sergio said of the 3 421 rapes cases that were reported between January and October countrywide this year, 2 405 of the victims were children.

She said it was sad to note that neighbours actually accounted for 41 percent of the reported cases, while relatives accounted for 27 percent. The figures were five percent more than those reported in the same period last year.
“Sexual abuse of minors by relatives and guardians has actually become a cause for concern,” said Asst Comm Sergio.

“All along, law enforcement agents have been working hard in raising awareness in all social circles on the dangers of sexual abuse and we were almost winning the war.
“However, the latest statistics show that we need to focus more on family units and the community at large to curb this vice.”

While rape was the major form of sexual abuse, there were also other forms of abuse that included sexual harassment, sexual relations of girls below the age of 16 and indecent assaults.

According to police statistics provided during the launch, 2 115 teen cases of rape and 1 599 other forms of abuse were recorded in 2009.
In 2011, rape cases of children rose to 3 004.
The number for other forms of abuse was 2 675, which was a marginal increase from the previous year.

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