Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Paidamoyo Chipunza
13 October 2009
opinion
Harare — "MY teacher sent me to fetch water with a 20-litre bucket. On my way back, I met four boys going to the borehole. One of them said: 'Look at me enjoy myself there'.
"He moved forward and fondled my breasts. I had no defence since I was holding the bucket with both hands above my head.
"When I got to my teacher's house, I told him what had happened.
"He smiled and also fondled my breasts saying 'It's because you are big and beautiful'".
This is the testimony of a Grade Seven pupil from Chipinge recorded in a baseline study carried out by Plan Zimbabwe. The study reveals a prevalence of sexual violence in schools, which often goes unreported. It also highlights corporal punishment by teachers and bullying by fellow schoolchildren among the rampant cases of child abuse.
The study is aimed at identifying forms of child abuse in schools.
"The gender dimensions of school-based abuse in Zimbabwe reflect those in the society as a whole. Male pupils tend to suffer more corporal punishment than their female counterparts. Again, male pupils are more likely to suffer bullying at the hands of stronger male pupils than their female colleagues. However, female pupils tend to be more prone to sexual violence than their male colleagues," says the study.
The study was carried out in five districts from three provinces namely Mutasa, Mutare and Chipinge in Manicaland, Chiredzi in Masvingo and Kwekwe in Midlands where Plan Zimbabwe is running projects for children.
The study's results will be used to spearhead a Plan national campaign titled 'Learn Without Fear' to be launched soon.
Presenting key findings of the study at a media briefing in Harare last week, Plan Zimbabwe's country learning advisor Mr Manager Mhangami said 67 percent of children and 35 percent of teachers concurred that corporal punishment, which tops the list, is perpetrated by all teachers at some point.
"According to school heads, most teachers -- once in the classroom -- become masters of themselves administering corporal punishment for bad handwriting, noise making, slow learning including inability to memorise facts or multiplication tables, having dog-eared exercise books, having less than the required number of exercise books, having no shoes, uniform among other reasons," Mr Mhangami said.
He said female teachers prefer pulling children's ears, pinching the abdomen or knocking heads with their knuckles while male teachers tend to beat children using sticks or pipes on their backsides or palms.
He said, besides teachers, ancillary staff -- for example boarding masters -- also administer corporal punishment, without recording it in the register of corporal punishment as spelt out by Government.
According to Government policy, any form of child abuse that occurs at school should be recorded in the school log book -- normally kept by the school head.
However, according to the study, most cases go unrecorded insinuating that headmasters would be protecting their staff.
"School-based abuse is, to a large extent, considered a side issue when reporting is done within the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture. As such most abuse in schools goes hidden, unrecorded and unreported, making determination of the extent of such abuse on the basis of official statistics misleading," Mr Mhangami noted.
Bullying, ranked second in the hierarchy of abuse in schools and is largely perpetrated by older and stronger boys on other boys.
"Bullying in schools has a discernable annual cycle with its peak during the first four weeks of each new school year, declining thereafter to low levels but never reaching zero till year end," further reads the study.
According to the study, 48 percent of primary school children and 49 percent of secondary pupils across all districts suffered bullying during the second term of 2008.
Beatings account for 37 percent of bullying during the same period, name calling -- 31 percent, belittling -- 8 percent, kicking -- six percent, shoving and public scolding -- seven percent.
About 43 percent of bullying occurs on the way to or from school while 31 percent occurs in the school playground.
"Like corporal punishment, bullying is rampant but goes unrecorded and unreported in the majority of the cases. No reporting forms specific to cases of bullying are kept at school, district, provincial or national level within the Ministry of Education."
"Evidence gathered during this study suggest that bullying is considered a trivial issue that does not deserve tracking and control," says the report.
On sexual violence against girls, the report noted that major perpetrators were boys they learn with, accounting for 50 percent while male staff members making sexual advances on girls account for 17 percent.
Mr Mhangami said evidence from the study suggests that reporting sexual violence is not easy, leading to suffering in silence, bottling of shock and trauma while corporal punishment and bullying result in children losing confidence in themselves -- all subsequently leading to dodging classes.
"Resultantly, children fail to succeed and realise their full potential to become leaders," he said.
"While the existing policy and regulatory frameworks totally prohibit sexual violence, they do not have provisions that suffice with regards to the prevention of the use of corporal punishment and bullying in schools."
To effectively eradicate all forms of child abuse Plan Zimbabwe recommends formulation of a national strategic plan, national abuse tracking system and intensifying campaigns against abuse. The child-centred organisation also recommends extension of helpline facilities to rural and remote areas and further research on the subject.
Currently, victims of abuse can report cases direct to the police's Victim Friendly Unit or through child protection committees set up at school level.
The committees comprise selected and trained children who would then take up the case to a selected teacher up to the police. Plan's child rights advisor Mr Witness Chokoko said with assistance from other non-Governmental organisations dealing with children, the system could be set up in most districts in the country.
Plan Zimbabwe's Learn Without Fear campaign is expected to run for three years envisaging a world where children go to school in safety and expect a quality learning experience without fear or threats of violence.
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