In December 2015, in the absence of the aunt, the uncle closed the door of one of the
rooms Tatenda was dressing up after taking a bath. He grabbed her by the neck, and
throwing her to a bed in the room, he said, “I told you….” In the process, Tatenda was
losing breadth and the uncle, raped her once. The same happened in March 2016 when
Tatenda was raped twice, and fell pregnant.
”My aunt told me not to report the matter to anyone. She also told me to tell people that I
was 17 years old when I was 15. If other people were to find out, she told me to tell them
that I had consented to the sexual intimacy and that we were serious lovers with my uncle.”
However, the mother, Nomsa Mlambo, heard about it through her brother. Initially, the
matter was reported at the local Dotito police station who down played the matter,
allegedly after receiving goodies from the 82- year old man. The uncle had promised to pay
US$3, 000 as compensation towards Tatenda’s sexual abuse.
Tatenda’s mother sought legal advice from Mwale who engaged Chinga Govhati, the Bindura
Project Officer, in assisting Tatenda. JCT helped Tatenda obtain a birth certificate and
reported the matter to the police in Bindura town. JCT and its partners in Bindura
intervened by facilitating Tatenda to get a birth certificate to prove her age. This would help
during court procedures,
JCT also referred Tatenda to Childline for counselling and ensured that she got medical
attention. The uncle was then arrested and at the time of going to press, he had been
summoned to appear in court on 4 October 2016 for trial. JCT would be there providing
support to Tatenda and her mother.
The project’s main intervention was to facilitate reporting of the case which had been
thrown away by the police as Tatenda had been told to lie that she was in a sexual
relationship with the uncle and that she was 17 years old. This means that Section 70 of the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] would then not apply.
According to Govhati, the case was handled through a multi-sectoral approach involving
JCT, Childline, Victim Friendly Unit, and the Health Services Systems in the Ministry of
Health and Child Care. This feature shows that there are indirect perpetrators like
mothers, aunts, and church elders who go for out of court settlements. The law is not clear
on such perpetrators. There is also false promise of marriages and compensation for
damages to parents.
The project has used the same approach of CFPs in Makoni and Beitbridge. These engage in
community legal education activities and empower the survivors of GBV as well as use the
multi-sectoral approach in dealing with issues affecting women and children.
In Makoni, Cecilia Mauye is the CFP for Ward 6 (Makoni Urban). Her awareness campaigns
are focused on church groups and other gatherings. She requests from the organisers to be
put on their programmes and agendas.
“This is one of the most effective ways to reach people, as it involves engaging large
numbers of people at any given time, ‘’ said Mauye. She also used the case management
approach whereby she refers issues to respective institutions, such as the police, the court
system and the project officer for survivors of GBV to receive comprehensive support.
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