Actress Priyanka Chopra Dismayed by Child Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe

Government says many young girls 'asking for it'!

By STUART GRAHAM
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Actress Priyanka Chopra says she is dismayed by the level of sexual violence against children in Zimbabwe, with government officials there telling her many young girls are "asking for it."

Chopra spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday after visiting the southern African country as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

She said it was "an eye-opening experience" meeting girls who had been shunned by society and thrown out of their homes after being raped. She says girls are told it's their fault.

"I heard a lot of this when I asked these government officials who said girls are asking for it," she said. Some girls were as young as 3 when they were raped by their fathers, uncles or other relatives, she said.

One out of three children under 18 in Zimbabwe has suffered some form of sexual violence, she said, calling that "staggering." In neighboring South Africa it's one out of five, she said.

Not sure where she got her numbers from, but 1 in 5 is extremely optimistic for South Africa where a child is raped every 3 minutes. I suspect these may be official numbers which don't come close to reality. If that is the case in Zimbabwe, then it is more likely that 2 out of 3 girls are sexually abused.

Chopra, who turned heads with her sweeping Ralph Lauren trench coat at Monday's Met Gala in New York, said she feels it's her duty to use her celebrity status to fight for worthy causes, especially violence against children.

"I am from India and I have seen wealth and poverty live together all my life," she said. "That is the state of the world. That is our reality. It takes people like us who are privileged, who have everything that we may need in abundance, to be able to share it in parts of the world where they may not have that."

Once-prosperous Zimbabwe has sunk into economic crisis over the years, with a cash crunch so severe that livestock in some cases is being accepted in lieu of currency. Unemployment is high, and the health and social services system has suffered.

Raped by pastor for 2 years

Chopra, who stars in the upcoming "Baywatch" film, said she couldn't get one Zimbabwe girl's story out of her mind.

The girl told Chopra how she was raped by her uncle when she was 7. "The pastor of their church told her family that she was possessed and she should come and live with him ... but the pastor raped her for two years," Chopra said.

"She was taken away from there and sent to another uncle and aunty of hers. The aunty then forced her to have sex with her husband, who was HIV positive. That was how she contracted HIV at age 17." The girl tried to kill herself three times before she was rescued by a group that offered her psychological support, Chopra said.

Funny! I don't see anywhere where she was 'asking for it'! The government needs desperately to change their attitude on child sex abuse, or the government itself needs to be changed. 

The U.N. Population Fund calls Zimbabwe an "extremely young country," with 62 percent of the population under 25.

Body to Fight Child Sexual Abuse Launched in Zimbabwe

The pain and sadness in the eyes of the beautiful, young
woman make it seem obvious that she is well acquainted
with the horrors of abuse. God bless you, Rita.

WOMEN’S Comfort Corner Foundation has launched the Line of Hope Project aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse in different parts of the country.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Speaking at the launch of the project at the British Council recently, the foundation’s executive director Rita Marque-Mbatha said communities and adults must be equipped with the right information to help them protect children from sexual harm.

“These are ambitious plans, but we are an ambitious campaign. We want as many trainees as possible especially counsellors, school children, teachers and administrators to become aware of child sexual abuse issues, including warning signs to look for in children and adults, so that more children and women are protected,” she said.

Marque-Mbatha said the organisation has partnered with End Violence Against Women (EVAW) International, a non-profit organisation based in USA, who have offered free online training for counsellors and school children.

“In preparation for their training events, and to learn more about the Start by Believing public awareness campaign, selected youth, will in April next year attend a three day training conference, which will be hosted by EVAW International in USA from April 18 to 20,” she said.

Marque-Mbatha said the training would allow selected students to return home and cascade the information to other children in various schools. She added the campaign would focus on school children and University students between 16 and 24 years.

Marque-Mbatha said men and boys would be engaged with a view to educate them and equip them with skills necessary to become leaders in their communities.

“Engaging men and boys in violence prevention is not simply a matter of getting their attention; it is also a question of how to incorporate men into already active women’s violence prevention efforts in a productive and collaborative manner,” she said.

“While there is a need for men and boys to be leaders in violence prevention, they must learn to do so in ways that do not reproduce the power dynamics and silencing of women’s voices that already contribute heavily to interpersonal violence in our culture. Men and boys gain the skills necessary to become leaders in their communities, by helping create positive environments using their newly acquired knowledge about healthy relationships, as well as recognising warning signs of abusive behaviour and knowing what to do if an unhealthy situation arises.”

Line of Hope Project was designed to inspire, empower, engage and equip youth and young adults to join Women’s Comfort Corner Foundation in to help prevent child abuse.