Source: The Standard
WOMEN and Aids Support Network (Wasn) says it has unearthed several unreported rape cases of the disabled and young girls during an ongoing awareness campaign on sexual and reproductive health, which the organisation is conducting throughout the country.

Wasn director, Mary Sanders, told The Standard last week that her organisation has already reported some of the rape cases to the police.
She said most of the cases go unreported because the victims and their guardians lack information. This, she said, is most prevalent in rural areas.

"We have discovered several cases, but most of them were not reported because the victims felt that they could get victimised in the community and also get blamed by family members," said Sanders, who could not give the exact number of cases her organisation has reported to the police.

"We really feel that there is a lot of awareness that we should be giving to the community and even to parents of children living with disabilities so that when anything like rape happens to their children, they should report to the police."

Sanders however, lambasted the courts for their delay in dealing with the reported cases of rape.

In one case, she said, it has taken over six years for justice to be delivered and "I think it was unfair to the victim."

She added, "We also have a case of a young girl who was raped in Chirumhanzu by her guardian and she is pregnant, but the justice system has taken so long to rein in the culprit.

"They are saying they are waiting for her to deliver the baby of the rapist and l don't know how she will live with that baby."

• Zimbabwe