The Sunday News
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
TEENAGERS, most of them under-aged, are frequenting places of entertainment such as drinking spots, bars and lodges in Kwekwe in a development that has seen an increased number of sexual gender-based violence and abuse among the age groups.
This emerged during the Kwekwe District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) meeting held recently where stakeholders raised concern that children were inundating the leisure joints where they were exposing themselves to sexual exploitation, violence and abuse.
Statistics released by the Kwekwe District social development department revealed that from January this year they have handled 31 cases of sexual abuse of under-age teenagers, a majority being girls.
The department also recorded 23 cases of teenagers who have been found on the wrong side of the law while four were physically abused in the same period.
In the same period, the Zimbabwe Association of Church-Related Hospitals (ZACH) which runs a one-stop centre at Kwekwe General Hospital reported having received 28 cases of sexual abuse and 13 cases of child marriages in the same period.
Kwekwe DCPC chairperson Mr Reason Machina said the fact that children were finding themselves in places of entertainment like bars, was fuelling cases of abuse in the district.
“It is worrying that children, most of them under-age, find their way into these places and this is the main reason why these cases are on the increase because they subject themselves to abuse.
“We are not yet sure how they find themselves there but it’s a case that we have to investigate,” he said.
Mr Machina said they intend to engage the business community to ensure that the children were not allowed entry in those places.
“We are planning an engagement meeting with owners of these premises and lodges so that they help us with age checking and help curb this challenge. We should also remind them that it is an offence in terms of the recently passed Children’s Amendment Act, to allow children in their premises,” he said.
During the meeting it also emerged that there is an illegal compound on the outskirts of Kwekwe where child sexual exploitation is rife.
“We have received numerous reports of the illegal compound popularly known as kwaDread. There are reports of rampant child prostitution, sexual abuse and child marriages there. We intend to visit the compound as a district team and establish what exactly is happening there,” he said.
The meeting also established that there is a high influx of street children in Kwekwe compared to other cities.
Recently the district civil protection unit destroyed an Apostolic shrine outside Kwekwe where such cases were also reported to be rife.
“We also noticed that there are a number of street urchins in Kwekwe compared to other cities. Maybe it is because the city is conducive to them — being a mining town. They have established a place just outside the CBD, where they stay.
“We are therefore working on how best to remove them from the streets and maybe relocate them to Chambuta in Chiredzi which was established by Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa for such people,” said Mr Machina.
Among those street people, cases of sexual and physical abuse are also rampant.
