ZAMBIAN OPEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

STUDENT NAME COMPUTER NUMBER SEMESTER YEAR PROGRAM COURSE COURSE CODE LECTURE ASSIGNMENT NO 2 :

: MWEWA THEOMA : 21221396 : ONE : TWO : BAE (SECONDARY). : GENDER ISSUES : EDG 2 : MR.CHANGALA M. It has been observed that cases of rape, defilement and incest are on the increase in Zambia, going by numerous media reports.What do you think has contributed to this state of affairs?What steps should be taken to curb the : 8TH APRIL 2013 CONTACT ADDRESS MKUSHI SECONDARY SCHOOL PO.BOX 840020 MKUSHI CELL: 0976559474/0964194321

DUE DATE ZAMBIA OPEN UNIVERSITY. P.O BOX 31295 LUSAKA

Sexual abuse and violence are serious problems that transcend racial, economic, social, and regional or even age and sex boundaries in Zambia and beyond. A day never passes without Zambia recording any of these cases. Adolescents and young children, in particular, may experience abuses in the form of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, defilement, and in worst cases female genital mutilation (Corwin 1988). To estimate the prevalence rate of sexual abuse and sexual violence in Zambia is difficult due to the limited amount of research done on the subject. It was for this purpose that this paper discusses the resulting causes of rape, defilement and incest in Zambia. In the same vein, steps to be undertaken in curbing these vices have been discussed. A study conducted by Brownmiller (1975) on Women and Rape, mentioned that originally rape was the illegal destruction of virginity outside marriage contract and later the concept become broader to cover the ruination of wife's chastity as well, thus extending the laws concern to non virgins too. A female was considered the property of her father to be bartered in marriage and her virginity was valued as the principal asset. Thus, rape was considered theft of a fathers daughters virginity and a crime against the husband's exclusive sexual right. This definition is still the norm among many African societies. However, as a result of women's movement during the 1970s in most parts of the world, the crime of rape is redefined as a crime of violence against females. It is clearly stated as: Rape is a deliberate, hostile, violent act of degradation and possession on the part of the would be conqueror, designed to intimidate and inspire fear. It is both a blow to the body and a blow to the mind and a 'taking' of sex through the use of threat of force. In rape the threat of force obtains a highly valued sexual service and the intent is not merely to 'take' but to humiliate and degrade (Brownmiller, 1975: 376-378). Many countries define rape as forcefully having sexual intercourse with a person. Rapist is the name given to an individual who commits the act. Many people do not report cases of rape, because of the fear of shame. Rape cases are investigated by the police after reporting. They gather evidence which includes seamen; blood stains cloths and other types of physical evidence. In Zambia and South Africa the research shows that there many rape cases reported each year.
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Rape, a profound violation of a womans bodily integrity which can be a form of torture, is a common phenomenon in all over the world particularly in developing countries. Reports from various parts of the world indicate that rape of women and young girls has increased considerably, especially in recent years. The actual number of instances of rape is far from being recorded in full since the unreported number is extremely high (Tjaden and Thoennes, 2006). Nowadays, the issue of rape has received increased attention as the number of victims is increasing dramatically every year all over the world. It seems that rape is considered everywhere as a major social and public health concern and a human rights issue. It can be said now that the prevalence of rape has gone even out of imagination since children of two years of age are being raped (Almaz,1996). Accordingly, she further mentioned that though the rate of prevalence varies, all groups of women can be victims of rape, ranging from infants up to old women, poor to rich, illiterate to educated, single or married, etc. Similarly, Amnesty International (2004) confirmed that women face discrimination and violence at the hands of the state, the community and the family from birth to death, in times of peace as well as war. Lobby, 2001 cited in Amnesty International, 2004). For this, many researchers have identified the causes. Yohannes (2003) in his study of sexual violence identified that shame, fear of stigma by the society and embarrassing questions asked by the police or later in a court as the major reasons hindering victims report to the police. Research shows that many of the victims in Zambia are raped by their relatives or their best friends. This shows that the main cause of rape in South Africa is revenge. Many of your girls yearly get raped by their former boyfriends (Kabaso,2013: 45). This shows that, after breaking a relationship, the hearted party seems to find ways to heart her friend. Mostly, a rapist commits the act during the prime time, and this shows that the time of the day influences the commission of rape. The research carried out in Kabwe,Zambia shows that a rapist considers the relationship with the victim, time, place, and social status of the victim. Most of individuals have psychological problems, and they commit rape without their consent. Defilement /child sexual abuse can be defined as any sexual contact between an adult (as socially and physically defined) and a sexually immature child for the purposes of adult sexual gratification or any sexual contact to a child made by use of force, threat or deceit to secure the childs participation or sexual contact to which the child is incapable of consenting by virtue of
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age or power differentials and the nature of the relationship with the adult (Finkelhor and Korbin 1988). The causes of defilement range from socio-cultural, economic and political. Luswata (1990) says that absolute poverty loams in the majority of households in Zambia, this can also step up the factors leading to increased defilement. It has been highly practiced that one can get rich by defiling a child or sleeping with a close relative. This practice is called Satanism its a demonic ritual highly practiced by most Zambians. The other leading cause of defilement in Zambia is a result of the myth that, HIV/AIDS can be cured if one sleeps with the child. In their curiosity of getting cured of People Living with HIV/AIDS it has highly contributed to high prevalence rate in Zambia. The UNICEF, ANPPCAN et al (2001) report observed that, broken marriages leave children stranded and without proper support. Children are often mistreated by step parents and run away from homes ending up as prostitutes or child laborers. Orphans who lack care and support are at risk of being exploited and street children are also more vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Drug abuse is both a direct cause and consequence of survival sex and child prostitution. In some parts of Zambia, parents make their children available for sexual exploitation in as a way of earning money or in exchange for the invalidation of family debts. Incest is defined as an act of sexual intercourse involving people with close relations. Under section 159 of the penal code of Zambia, its punishable of a minimum penalty of 20 years and maximum of life imprisonment (Kabaso,2013:23). What on earth will make someone to be sexually attracted to a close blood relation like a sister, brother, cousin, mother or father? In most cultures of the world, incest, which is sexual experience with a blood relation, is regarded as a taboo, a grievous abomination before God and the deities. The act is even punishable in some culture with death or eternal ostracization or banishment. The major cause of incest in Zambia is a misconception that sleeping with a close blood is one way of casting away evil spirits and incestuous sexual relations is one way of amassing wealth by the parts involved (Corwin,2008). It is in our view that this evil will not be won through stiffer punishment and sensitization only but also by personal effort and change of mentality by the citizens to stop the activity. This is an
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evil that has everything to do with myths of cure for some STI and AIDS or Cleansing from some evil spirits of some sort and/or mere lack of self control. We are making an earnest appeal to our men to brash these myths away and face reality to say that these acts are wrong and should not be allowed to continue at all. Mulenga (2012:5) assert that, parents and guardians need to ensure they are not loose on their children especially when going and coming back from schools. Lets ensure that our children are escorted and collected at reporting and knocking off times respectively . It is also important that our teachers live up to the trust that people have in them as parents or guardians leave their children in their hands for hours. Teachers therefore need to find time to explain to the children that they need not to be silent about men touching them in certain ways or even having sex with them but should tell the parents or/ and the teachers about it immediately no matter what even if the abusers give them sweets, money or even threaten them. Girls need not to take themselves to the sacrificial alters they need to respect, keep themselves and concentrate on things that will positively affect their lives not alcohol consumptions and illicit relations with big men all for the love of goodies and money. Parents need to ensure they provide for the needs of their children and avoid too much child bearing if they do not have the capacity to look after them. In conclusion, there are many rape, defilement and incest cases committed in Zambia in urban areas than in rural areas. This shows that civilized people commit these cases. Its for this purpose that the paper recommends and urge all clubs owners to strictly stop underage patrons in their premises but further he councils should not relent in enforcing the law. We urge religious organizations and business communities to talk against these evils in their congregations during their preaching and meetings so that the message can go across as we need every one to rise up and fight this wrong tooth and nail.

References

Almaz Haile Selassie (1996). The impact of rape and abduction against women on the social, economical and psychological condition of the victims. Addis Ababa: Heinemann Blumen K. N. & Stephen L.B (1994). Perceptions of mothers and fathers supportive abuse & behaviors. Blumenthal, I. (1994). Child abuse A. Handbook for Health care practitioners. Great Britain. Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: men, women and rape. US: The Random House Publishing Group. Clare, M. (2003). Good Enough Parenting When Government is the Parent, Children Australia,Vol 28 (4), 19-34 Corwin, D. (2008) Early diagnosis of child sexual abuse: diminishing the lasting effects , in Wyatt, G. & Powell, G. (Eds.) Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, p251-71. Kabaso S (2013). Sexual abuse effects on child development. Kabwe: Kabsy Digital Media. Mulenga J. (2012). Why are child defilement cases in Zambia rising ? Retrieved on 22nd May 2013 from http://www.lusakatimes.com/2012/03/05/child-defilement-cases-zambia-rising/