- LUSAKA, Zambia (Reuters)
-- A myth is fueling a heinous crime across southern Africa.
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- It goes like this: If you want to succeed at work or
cure yourself of AIDS, you need to have sex with a minor or one of your
own children.
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- The result has been a surge in reported cases of child
rape, particularly in Zambia, a scourge that has shaken this deeply Christian
country of 10 million people to its core.
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- About one in five Zambian adults has the HIV virus that
leads to AIDS; around 22 million people in the whole southern African region
are infected.
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- Almost every day, Zambian newspapers carry chilling tales
of child rape -- tales that are depressingly familiar to readers of the
South African press, where the only consolation may lie in the fact that
they are not quite so frequent.
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- Zambian Vice President Nevers Mumba says the crime has
become a serious problem, with more than 400 cases recorded between January
and June 2003, up from 238 in the same period last year.
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- TRADITIONAL HEALERS BLAMED
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- Some blame traditional healers, whom most people turn
to for medical advice, not least because so few can afford a doctor.
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- "Traditional healers are misleading some rapists
that HIV infection can be reversed if a man has sex with a minor...It is
a tragedy and something that is endangering the lives of our children,"
said Ireen Nkunda, a counselor for abused children at a Lusaka-based Young
Women Christian Association (YWCA).
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- Nkunda said the YWCA handled 110 cases of child rape
between January and September of this year.
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- "Once we had a case of a father who raped his 1-1/2-year-old
baby," she said.
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- Rodwell Vongo, head of the Traditional Healers Association
of Zambia, denies any wrongdoing by his members.
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- "Our members cannot mislead people in such a manner...We
have been educating them not to mislead people that they can cure AIDS,"
Vongo said.
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- Nkunda said a study had found that some men rape their
children after visiting traditional healers who advise them to have sex
with a daughter or young female relative to boost profits in their businesses.
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- "Some men also believe that they will get promoted
at their place of work if they have sex with a minor...Our children are
not safe because rapists are now within our families," she said.
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- In September, the story of an 11-year-old girl who died
after being raped repeatedly by her half-brother prompted a national awakening
on the subject.
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- Police spokeswoman Brenda Muntemba blamed "weak
laws" for the increasing child rape cases.
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- "There is nothing the police can do if an offender
is arrested and appears before court where he is then given bail. Our court
system and even the prisons (service) need serious reforms," Muntemba
said.
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- STRICTER LEGISLATION
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- Legal Affairs Minister George Kunda said the government
was re-drafting the Rape Act to introduce severe sentences for child rape.
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- Most people convicted of child rape are sentenced to
somewhere between three months and five years -- not nearly long enough,
according to child welfare advocates.
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- "We are reforming all laws on sexual offenses, especially
those relating to child rape...We want to provide for serious sentences
that will deter would-be offenders," Kunda said.
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- Activists say the government is all talk and no action.
"Child rapists need to be caged ... We plan to picket parliament everyday
when it resumes its sittings (in October) until they introduce amendments
to the laws," said Lumba Siyanga, spokeswoman for Women for Change,
Zambia's leading women's rights group.
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- Miriam Chipimo, an adolescent and reproductive health
specialist at Zambia's Central Board of Health, said children who have
been raped face many problems.
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- "It is distressing to see what damage is caused
to children ...some are infected with HIV, their (future) fertility is
affected and some are brought to the hospitals with full blown AIDS after
being raped by parents," Chipimo said.
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- The law stipulates that no one should be subjected to
HIV tests and so when a child is raped, the accused cannot be tested, Chipimo
added.
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