Harare — THE campaign against child sexual abuse that was launched on Monday this week in Epworth will certainly go a long way in curbing this heinous crime, which sadly, is a practice common both on and off school premises.

The constant reports on child abuse as they relate to girls, are now a regular feature in our media and the time for everybody to take action and play a part in bringing to a stop this ugly crime was, to put it mildly, long overdue.

What is refreshing about the campaign is that it is aimed at empowering children -- the victims -- so that they have the confidence to deal with abusers and potential abusers.

This also gives them the confidence to report the various forms of abuse that would have been perpetrated on.

We however, feel that the campaign should also focus on children in nursery schools because there have been many cases involving little children under the age of five that have fallen victim to paedophiles and other child abusers.

It is also gratifying to note that the judiciary has been empowered to give a maximum jail penalty of a life sentence for rapists. This is a milestone in the justice delivery system.

A retrospective study of reported child sexual abuse cases over an eight-year period (1990-1997) by Beyond Inequalities -- a series of publications that profile the status of women in southern Africa -- revealed high rates of sexual abuse committed by teachers in rural primary schools.

Rapists are generally people who are familiar with the victim and children should be empowered to report culprits no matter how closely related they are to them.

We have had instances where marriage is used to legitimise sexual violence against girls. Marrying off young children is a form of sexual violence since children involved cannot withhold their consent.

Rape is a crime of violence that is worse than armed robbery. It is a crime that degrades and humiliates a victim for life. The psychological scars never heal.

A rapist is a possible carrier of sexually transmitted infections and worse still could be living with HIV that causes Aids.

There is therefore need to make children aware of this fact and ensure they get post-exposure prophylaxis treatment within 14 days to stop progression of HIV in their bodies.

There are traditional practices in Zimbabwe, other than child marriages, that also result in sexual violence.

The practice of compensating ngozi, where a child is given to a family as compensation promotes the sexual abuse of girls.

On reaching puberty, the girl is expected to marry the deceased's relative so as to produce a son to replace the dead person. Their first sexual encounters are often forced. That is rape.

All forms of sexual abuse against women and children should be eradicated. The legal and policy framework must go further to tackle violence against women and children.

The link between gender violence and HIV has been recognised through the Sexual Offences Act, but there is need for protocol, to put in place laws, systems and services with the ultimate goal of ridding society of all forms of gender-based violence.

Shocking too are revelations that 60 percent of murder cases in Zimbabwe have been attributed to domestic violence.

This calls for the speedy ratification of the Domestic Violence Bill that seems to be collecting dust since 1996 when it was initially drafted. The magnitude of domestic violence is appalling as many cases go unreported because of lack of a law that specifically deals with this kind of violence.

The time has come for the culture of violence to be eradicated.

Many who live with violence believe it is an intrinsic part of their lives but violence can be prevented and it has to start at a personal level.