Suffer the little children
Lebogang Mosikare | Friday June 12, 2015 13:23
When a teenager is defiled, it is often the fault of an adult male. Research and the recent spate of cases here, suggest that victims know the perpetrators of defilement.
These culprits include close relatives, teachers, uncles, step-parents, biological parents and aunties among others, who take advantage of the vulnerable state of these children to defile them, instead of protecting them.
In April this year, Principal Magistrate Dumisani Basupi of the Francistown Magistrate Court sentenced a 49-year-old man to 10 years in jail for defiling his 12-year-old stepdaughter.
On that fateful day in 2013, the perpetrator, a Zimbabwean chased away the mature woman with whom he was living following the death of the complainant’s mother who had been his live-in lover.
Basupi noted that the horrific ordeal was going to traumatise the complainant for the rest of her life.
Added Basupi: “This is one of those unfortunate matters that social workers and the complainant’s immediate family members did not discover timeously. It could not have happened otherwise.”
In another matter, a 60-year-old man is awaiting judgment in a case in which he allegedly defiled his 12-year-old biological daughter, in 2008 at Newstands location. He is also allegedly the father of the young girl’s child.
In this case, the father vehemently denies all the allegations. From damning DNA tests to slam-dunk testimony, he says a conspiracy has been formed against him by a former girlfriend.
“I jilted her and she is now trying to get back at me,” the sexagenarian testified this week.
In 2013, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Kin-Moon, revealed that 16 million teenagers worldwide under the age of 18 fall pregnant every year due to various reasons, including defilement.
“Even one incident of defilement (sic) is one incident too many,” Ban added. Locally, the voices of concern are rising over the increasing cases of defilement in the country.
According to figures from the Botswana Police Service, 530 and 531 cases of defilement were recorded in the country in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Police spokesman, Christopher Mbulawa said that in all the cases, the victims were females.
Statistics from the North Central Divisional Commander show that 34 cases of defilement were reported from January to April 2015.
The division is made up of Palapye, Rakops, Letlhakane, Selebi-Phikwe, Bobonong, Baines Drift and Mahalapye.
Defilement is defined in Section 147 of the penal code as: “(1) Any person who unlawfully and carnally knows any person under the age of 16 years is guilty of an offence and on conviction shall be sentenced to a minimum term of 10 years’ imprisonment or to a maximum term of life imprisonment…”
Despite the stiff punishment awaiting defilers, hardly a week passes without the media reporting about a child who has been sexually molested.
In fact, social workers say the reports that make the headlines are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more victims suffer in silence, while in some cases family members who should report are unwilling to especially when the perpetrators are either menacing or are breadwinners.
In some cases, money exchanges hands or there is fear of shame by those involved such as close relatives and those who hold power in communities.
According to social worker, Kgomotso Jongman, poverty is a particularly prominent factor in the under reporting of defilement.
“In some cases the person who defiles is the breadwinner and this is hard and complex to detect. We need to have an empowered nation to eradicate defilement. We need to be open and talk about issues of sexuality,” said Jongman.
The causes of defilement are equally varied.
“Because of certain cultural beliefs, some people believe that sleeping with a younger person cleanses them. Some religious people also believe that they see visions that guide into sex with minors,” said Jongman. “This they really do just to satisfy their lust for sex.” The effects of defilement are equally manifold.
“Mostly victims of defilement lose self-esteem and cannot stand up for themselves. They can start to be sexually active after the first encounter and this will hamper their progress in other spheres of life. Defilement can also instill fear in children who were defiled,” said Jongman.
He said that to solve the problem, individuals and parents need to take responsibility and let children grow as children. The new Children’s Act of 2009 is already in place to curb the problem, he said, adding however, that legislation alone is not enough to control the scourge.
Education is also key.
“Comprehensive Sexuality Education is an age-appropriate, culturally relevant approach to teaching about sex and relationships by providing scientifically accurate, realistic, non-judgmental information,” said Jongman.
“Sexuality education provides opportunities to explore one’s own values and attitudes and to build decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills about many aspects of sexuality. “
The term comprehensive emphasises an approach to sexuality education that encompasses the full range of information, skills and values to enable young people to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights and to make decisions about their health and sexuality, said the social worker.