Incest threatening the moral fibre of Zimbabwe

Lazarus Sauti

Sexual relationships between family members have become common in Zimbabwe, assuming a semblance of normalcy that threatens the moral fibre of the country.

Reports that 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 are worrying.

The figure might be even higher since cases that involve incest go unreported because of threats by perpetrators to their victims.

Importantly, the latest statistics show that the country needs to focus more on family units and the community at large to solve this escalating problem.

Incest is a crime and it should be reported.

Writing in The Chronicle newspaper recently, Vaidah Mashangwa, the provincial development officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs Gender and Community Development Officer noted that incest is a crime and therefore if reported, it can protect children against sexual advances by older members of the family.

She added: “Animals such as chimpanzees tend to avoid in-breeding between siblings and between females and their male offspring. If animals can avoid incestuous relationships what then can stop human beings from practising the same.”

Parents, guardians and neighbours need to be responsible enough to shun in-breeding between siblings and safeguard the lives of their children.

Unless the family unit, community leaders, civic organisation, religious bodies, non-governmental organisations and the government take the initiative to change the moral landscape of the country, the young people of Zimbabwe will abuse their children just as much as they have been abused.

Serious measures such as sex offenders’ registry and tracking systems are therefore needed to curb this social vice.

In European countries, they have sex offenders’ registry systems that are designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentence.

Accordingly, our government should prioritise such an important monitory system to tail sex offenders who are a danger to Zimbabwe’s society especially to defenseless children.

It is critical to note that in some jurisdictions, such as the United States of America, registration is accompanied by notification requirements.

The information in the registry is made available to the public via a website or other means.

More so, in many jurisdictions registered sex offenders are subject to additional restrictions, including on housing.

This means that those on parole or probation may be subject to restrictions that do not apply to other parolees or probationers.

Sometimes these include (or have been proposed to include) restrictions on being in the presence of minors, living in proximity to a school or day care centre, owning toys or other items of interest to minors, or using the Internet.

Sadly, in Zimbabwe, convicted pedophiles or rapists are free to mingle with minors upon release and this is putting the lives of minors in great danger.

Furthermore, to protect children from relatives, guardians and neighbours, the government should carry out aggressive sensitisation campaigns for citizens to report suspected incest cases.

Law enforcement agents should work hard in raising awareness on the dangers of sexual abuse.

Support groups of people who have had the same experience would be of good help in trying to solve incest problems in the country.

Sharing their stories, especially with some guidance of group therapy could help.

Remember the feeling of not being alone is very consoling.

Furthermore, truth heals; thus, survivors should be encouraged to speak out. Breaking the silence helps the survivor and others as a kind of warning or precaution.

When a parent or guardian or neighbour abuses a child and tells him to keep quiet, it traumatises that child and makes him or her more helpless.

To effectively curb this vice, children should be empowered to question things that breach their rights and dignity.

This is evident in Western societies, though sometimes exaggerated, where children can call the police at will.

To safeguard the lives of minors, the government and other key players must come up with measures that protect them.

The measures must ensure that sex offenders are tracked down and those from other countries should not be allowed to cross borders.

Zimbabweans, like other Africans, see themselves as their brothers’ keepers and do not talk about individualism because it is abhorrent to the traditional African mentality.

Zimbabweans should therefore employ this Africa value to combat incest and protect the lives of its future generation.