Maravi

(HERALD ZW) 2 405 children raped in 10 months

COMMENT - Although child rape is bad, this is also an election year, and I don't see how these data compare negatively internationally. It is clear that the activists involved want to pretend that there is some kind of extension between the hyper-inflated rape statistics of the DRC, and the rape in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, even most literate people are innumerate, which is how they try to pull the wool over the ordinary voters' eyes.

Comparison:

Zimbabwe: 2405 in 10 months (2886 in 12 months)
South Africa: 28 000 in 3 years (9,333 in 12 months)
South Africa has 4x the population of Zimbabwe (52 million to 13 million). South Africa has 3.23 x as many as Zimbabwe. So underage rape per 100,000:

South Africa: 17.9 (9333/520)
Zimbabwe: 22.2 (2886/130)

And that is if you believe the statistics from either the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) (SA), or the ZRP’s Crime Awareness Campaign (ZW). There could easily be an increase in reporting, rather than an increase in incidence.

2 405 children raped in 10 months
Saturday, 15 December 2012 00:00
Crime Reporter

TWO thousand four hundred and five children were raped countrywide out of the 3 421 cases reported between January and October this year. According to police statistics, neighbours perpetrated 41 percent, while relatives accounted for 27 percent of the cases.

Officer commanding the Victim Friendly Unit Assistant Commissioner Isabella Sergio yesterday said the rape of juveniles continued to increase countrywide.

[Question: how long has the 'Victim Friendly Unit' existed, and is this 'increase' an actual increase in the number of rapes, or an increase in the number of reported rapes? - MrK]

“As an organisation we are obviously worried by the fact that children continue to bear the brunt of sexual offences.

[Do they? And how many of these rapes, which heavily skew towards rape by relatives or acquaintances, is statutory rape only? Again, this is an election year. - MrK]

“The majority of reported cases have been perpetrated against children under the age of 18 years,” she said.

Asst Comm Sergio was speaking at the launch of ZRP’s Crime Awareness Campaign in Harare.

[Red Flag! Staggering statistics coming out of an NGO. - MrK]

She said rapists seemed to take advantage of children’s naivety, vulnerability and inability to protect themselves.

She said parents had become careless and left their children in the custody of potential rapists.

“Parents leave minors in the custody of male relatives or their neighbours as they go about their activities. This exposes them to sexual abuse.”

Asst Comm Sergio said during school days, some children go to and from school unaccompanied with some of them using shortcuts such as secluded areas exposing themselves to danger.

Some parents even let their children sell various wares on street corners, shopping centres and residential homes where they could be subjected to sexual harassment and abuse.

“What has become more worrisome now is that boys under the age of 18 years have developed a habit of sexually abusing young girls below 12 years.

“These teenage boys take advantage of unaccompanied minors left in their custody or waylay them in secluded footpaths, bushy areas and maize fields as well as along the distances between schools and homesteads especially in rural areas,” she said.

She said lack of accommodation for families had also resulted in children sharing bedrooms with male relatives and this subjected them to abuse.

Asst Comm Sergio said children were also lured with cash, private lessons and transport in private vehicles before being raped by some unscrupulous individuals, teachers, motorists and male relatives.

“Rape of juveniles is characterised by late reporting. The majority of cases are rather discovered than disclosed,” she said.

She also expressed concern over date rape as some boyfriends were in the habit of putting noxious substances in their girlfriends’ drinks before raping them.

Asst Comm Sergio said domestic violence cases were also on the increase.

So far, she said, 9 807 cases have been reported countrywide compared to last year’s 8 296.

“Murders as a result of domestic violence also continue to rise. The link between domestic violence and technology has become very significant as a number of cases emanate from invasion of privacy particularly through cellphones and e-mails.

“Infidelity and misuse of family income are other major causes of domestic violence,” she said.

[People fight over money? - MrK]

She urged the public to report all cases or suspected cases of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

posted by MrK @ 4:31 PM