News / National
330 children raped in Harare
16 Nov 2013 at 03:20hrs | Views
INCREASING cases of rape in Harare are giving authorities a headache with 664 women and girls having been raped in the last 10 months.
Of the figure, 334 were adults and the remainder being children and juveniles. Women were raped while walking alone in secluded areas while children were raped mostly by relatives and neighbours.
Some of perpetrators have been arrested and have their cases pending before the courts while others are on the run.
Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tadius Chibanda yesterday said the police would continue carrying out awareness campaigns to educate the public.
"We will embark on a crime awareness campaign in the province and this will be conducted by the Press and public relations section and our Victim Friendly Unit," he said.
He urged parents to ensure that they did not leave their children with male relatives as some of them ended up raping them.
Insp Chibanda also urged women to also avoid walking alone in secluded areas.
In September, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri expressed concern over the increase in rape and stocktheft cases.
"We handled a 6 percent increase in rape cases for juveniles and 3 percent for adults while stocktheft also went up by 5 percent and that is certainly an issue of grave concern to us," he said.
"It is also disturbing to note that crimes of passion and cases of rape against defenceless juveniles continue to rise."
Comm-Gen Chihuri said the police would continue with awareness campaigns in the fight against crime and called on stakeholders to complement police efforts in enhancing the protection of vulnerable children in the society.
In June, President Mugabe expressed anguish over rising cases of child rape and gayism and said a Zanu-PF Government would take stern measures against perpetrators with a battery of new and stiffer penalties.
Speaking at the golden jubilee and 50th graduation ceremony at Bondolfi Teachers' College, the President said it was crucial to uphold good values and protect the dignity of children and women who are often the victims of sexual violence.
"Every Monday I get briefings from the police. Tinenge tiri tese nana (Vice President) Amai Mujuru and we hear so many cases about adults who are raping children.
"It is really bad for a person to rape a child, just that little space of time and the man fiddles with the young child, what kind of behaviour is that?
He decried the light sentences that were being imposed on people who raped children.
"You have a situation where a person who is arrested for raping a child is slapped with a sentence of just three years. What is that? We want stiffer sentences to be meted on the offenders."
Early this month, a Form Four pupil reportedly laced a 13-year-old girl's Amarula drink with a sexually enhancing tablet and raped her with the help of his Lower Six friend.
According to police statistics, 3 102 cases of domestic violence were recorded and 824 women and children were raped in Harare last year.
Of the figure, 334 were adults and the remainder being children and juveniles. Women were raped while walking alone in secluded areas while children were raped mostly by relatives and neighbours.
Some of perpetrators have been arrested and have their cases pending before the courts while others are on the run.
Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tadius Chibanda yesterday said the police would continue carrying out awareness campaigns to educate the public.
"We will embark on a crime awareness campaign in the province and this will be conducted by the Press and public relations section and our Victim Friendly Unit," he said.
He urged parents to ensure that they did not leave their children with male relatives as some of them ended up raping them.
Insp Chibanda also urged women to also avoid walking alone in secluded areas.
In September, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri expressed concern over the increase in rape and stocktheft cases.
"We handled a 6 percent increase in rape cases for juveniles and 3 percent for adults while stocktheft also went up by 5 percent and that is certainly an issue of grave concern to us," he said.
"It is also disturbing to note that crimes of passion and cases of rape against defenceless juveniles continue to rise."
Comm-Gen Chihuri said the police would continue with awareness campaigns in the fight against crime and called on stakeholders to complement police efforts in enhancing the protection of vulnerable children in the society.
In June, President Mugabe expressed anguish over rising cases of child rape and gayism and said a Zanu-PF Government would take stern measures against perpetrators with a battery of new and stiffer penalties.
Speaking at the golden jubilee and 50th graduation ceremony at Bondolfi Teachers' College, the President said it was crucial to uphold good values and protect the dignity of children and women who are often the victims of sexual violence.
"Every Monday I get briefings from the police. Tinenge tiri tese nana (Vice President) Amai Mujuru and we hear so many cases about adults who are raping children.
"It is really bad for a person to rape a child, just that little space of time and the man fiddles with the young child, what kind of behaviour is that?
He decried the light sentences that were being imposed on people who raped children.
"You have a situation where a person who is arrested for raping a child is slapped with a sentence of just three years. What is that? We want stiffer sentences to be meted on the offenders."
Early this month, a Form Four pupil reportedly laced a 13-year-old girl's Amarula drink with a sexually enhancing tablet and raped her with the help of his Lower Six friend.
According to police statistics, 3 102 cases of domestic violence were recorded and 824 women and children were raped in Harare last year.
Source - Herald
