News / Local
15 women raped daily in Zimbabwe
15 Aug 2012 at 13:40hrs | Views
AT least 15 women are raped in Zimbabwe daily, shock new government figures reveal.
Between January 1 and May 31, 2,195 cases of rape were reported, with May alone accounting for 470 sexual attacks, according to a report by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Office.
This translates to 15 women being raped daily or an equivalent of one woman abused every 90 minutes.
But women's rights groups say the figure could be much higher and are encouraging more women to come forward and report abuse.
Evince Mugumbate, of the Women and Aids Support Network (WASN), said the shocking statistics were proof that more women were standing up to their abusers and seeking justice.
"Before, there was shame and stigma associated with reporting rape, but more women are more educated and are coming out to report," she said.
"Women are now enlightened, educated and brave to report these cases."
The ZimStat report, titled Quarterly Digest of Statistics, reveals that in January, 427 women were raped, while in February 428 were abused.
In March, 425 women were abused, with the number rising to 445 the following month and peaking at 470 in May.
The figures are down from last year when 5,449 incidents were recorded.
Over the same period in 2010, 4,450 cases where reported while in 2009 there were 3,481 sex attacks.
Anele Ndebele of the Matabeleland Aids Council said the statistics were a cause for concern as it invariably meant there was an increase in the transmission of HIV.
"You tend to believe that when rape takes place, there is no protection and this may in turn lead to an increase in the rate of HIV transmission," he said.
Mugumbate said the government needed to do more to establish reasons why sexual abuse was so prevalent in Zimbabwe, and come up with a national policy to reduce the scourge.
Between January 1 and May 31, 2,195 cases of rape were reported, with May alone accounting for 470 sexual attacks, according to a report by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Office.
This translates to 15 women being raped daily or an equivalent of one woman abused every 90 minutes.
But women's rights groups say the figure could be much higher and are encouraging more women to come forward and report abuse.
Evince Mugumbate, of the Women and Aids Support Network (WASN), said the shocking statistics were proof that more women were standing up to their abusers and seeking justice.
"Before, there was shame and stigma associated with reporting rape, but more women are more educated and are coming out to report," she said.
"Women are now enlightened, educated and brave to report these cases."
The ZimStat report, titled Quarterly Digest of Statistics, reveals that in January, 427 women were raped, while in February 428 were abused.
In March, 425 women were abused, with the number rising to 445 the following month and peaking at 470 in May.
The figures are down from last year when 5,449 incidents were recorded.
Over the same period in 2010, 4,450 cases where reported while in 2009 there were 3,481 sex attacks.
Anele Ndebele of the Matabeleland Aids Council said the statistics were a cause for concern as it invariably meant there was an increase in the transmission of HIV.
"You tend to believe that when rape takes place, there is no protection and this may in turn lead to an increase in the rate of HIV transmission," he said.
Mugumbate said the government needed to do more to establish reasons why sexual abuse was so prevalent in Zimbabwe, and come up with a national policy to reduce the scourge.
Source - thestandard
