ZIMBABWE WOMENS ISSUES

Reported rapes in Zimbabwe have increased 30% between 1993-1998 and more than half of the cases in 1997 involved children, a large number of them under 5-years-old. (Dean E. Murphy, "Africa’s Silent Shame," Los Angeles Times, 16 August 1998)

The number of girls entering prostitution is increasing. The men who sexually exploit girls are called "Sugar Daddies." (UNICEF 1991, Fred Katerere, "Zimbabweans Youth Warned About Early Sex With Elders," PANA, 8 October 1997)

About one-fifth of female AIDS cases in Zimbabwe involve girls in their teens or younger, while the equivalent number among males is one-seventh. Imbalances in infection rates among girls and boys exist in other African countries as well, in large part because of child prostitution but also, medical workers suspect, because of sexual abuse at home. (United Nations,Dean E. Murphy, "Africa’s Silent Shame," Los Angeles Times, 16 August 1998)

A 31-year-old army captain infected with HIV was convicted of raping a 4-year-old neighbor; authorities have not revealed whether the girl has contracted the virus. In April 1998, a 38-year-old Harare man, also HIV-positive, was accused of raping his 6-year-old daughter in the bathtub; the girl later tested positive for the disease, authorities said. In an earlier trial, a rapist who described himself as "King AIDS" was sentenced to life in prison for knowingly infecting an 8-year-old. (Dean E. Murphy, "Africa’s Silent Shame," Los Angeles Times, 16 August 1998)

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