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It’s time to stop child abuse that comes in many forms

Jerry Iceberg Kapfunde
CHILD abuse occurs when children are being treated unfairly, improperly or wrongfully. The abuse comes in different types which include labour, sexually, physically and emotionally.
Labour abuse is when a child is given hard tasks that they can not tackle. Nowadays you can see an eight-year old girl being forced to carry a 20-litre bucket on her head which is way above her body weight because of the shortage of water in the residential areas.

Some of the parents who give too much labour to these children take advantage because they are just guardians of orphans while some would have been adopted.

They don’t even care about the health of children they are treating as slaves.
Children are also being sexually abused.

Back in the day it was known that male figures were the only perpetrators of rape, but nowadays you can see children being raped by females.
The males are also sodomising young boys and raping girls who are as small as one-day old. These are the stories making the headlines in newspapers everyday.

These issues are appearing in newspapers more than sports news. Some children are beaten everyday by their parents/guardians for no reason.
Some will end up being street kids trying to run away from these physical abusers.

There are some guardians who stay with their relatives’ children who would have died but they abuse these children emotionally.
Some stay with stepfathers and stepmothers, they however find it easy to stay in the street than staying where they are always being abused .
Because of poverty some young girls will find jobs as houseworkers which is also labour abuse since they will be of young age.

Sadly others are becoming sex workers going into bars, pubs and clubs to be prostitutes so that they can find money to take care of themselves. In some cases they are kicked out of the house at the age of 13.

These children will think it is the right thing not knowing that it is sexual abuse. These child abusers should get stiffer penalties so that it will deter others from abusing children.

Those who are caught should be sentenced to life in prison especially sex offenders because they are destroying the life of the youths in Zimbabwe.
Government should help us by providing funds for establishing Child Care Centres throughout the cities and develop those which are declining. We need these Child Care Centres and more police stations because these are the only places we can get help from.

The police also protects us.
We should start child support networks which will go around in schools and community halls holding meetings with children.
When they are in operation children will stay alert that when something happens they have somewhere they get help.

Life will be much better if the children are educated because the way they are living, some are being abused unknowingly thinking that if is normal for every family but with the Children Care Centres they will get help and also help those living in the streets get into orphanages.

STOP CHILD ABUSE !!!!!