Gwanda teen rape victim placed in safe home

Zim Now Writer

Following several incidents of rape and threats by a family member, a 14-year-old Gwanda girl has been placed in a safe house.

The girl missed out on school for a year and is only doing Form One at a local school now, following the intervention of the Department of Social Welfare.

To help her deal with the trauma, the girl is receiving counselling.

It is alleged that the girl was raped several times by her father when she was nine while staying with him in Mberengwa in the Midlands Province.

Her aunt who was living in West Nicholson took her in but there, she was raped again by a family member who was living there.

The abuser would hold a knife to her throat and threaten to kill her if she revealed the matter to anyone.

The girl’s family found two suicide notes in which she narrated her anguish, after suffering in silence for several months.

While her other assailant was arrested, appeared in court and was granted bail, her father is still at large.

The girl’s family decided to engage the Department of Social Welfare after realising the post traumatic effects that were still haunting her.

Her aunt used to find her crying and she would appear seemingly shaken.

Matabeleland South provincial social welfare officer, Criswell Nyakudya said the teenager has been placed in a safe home to help her recover from the ordeal.

“We acted swiftly after the matter was reported to us. After engaging the family, we learnt that the girl hadn’t attended school for the whole of 2022. We put her in a safe home and we also enrolled her at a local school where she is doing her Form 1,” he said.

“She is receiving professional counselling in order to help her recover from the ordeal. Being in a safe home will help her to receive the appropriate and professional care.

“It’s important for a child to be removed from an environment where she was abused as part of the healing process. If she is likely to meet the perpetrator, the more the reason why she needs to be removed.”

Nyakudya said the fact that the teenager was contemplating suicide was an indication that the trauma she had experienced was severe and allowing her to remain in that traumatic environment was only going to damage her more.