Orphaned girls at high risk of sexual abuse

By Nomzamo Gwebu

Many young girls living in child headed families are at high risk of sexual exploitation from community members or other relatives. Emily Ndlovu is a sixteen year old girl from Filabusi, a small town in Matabeleland South province. Emily says she was once sexually abused by her uncle following the death of her parents and her grandmother.

“My parents died in a car accident when I was eleven years old. I went to live with my grandmother. Life was difficult because my grandmother was very old. However she was there for me and she took care of me as much as she could,” says Emily.

Emily says during her stay with her grandmother, she contributed to her upkeep by vegetable vending and rearing chickens. She adds that income from her vending business went towards school fees and other basic needs. She says as she was adjusting to living with her grandmother, tragedy struck again when her grandmother died in 2019.

“I was now doing my Ordinary Level and preparing for examinations when my grandmother died. I had no money to register for the examinations and there was no one to help me. I was all alone at home. Some neighbours helped with food and other small provisions,” says Emily.

Emely says living alone brought about a lot of challenges. She says some thieves would come to her home during the day and steal from her when she was at school. She says all her chickens, clothes and food was lost to the thieves.

“I lost almost everything and I was on the verge of dropping out of school. One of my neighbours took heed of my plight and gave me some chickens and food. I could not continue with my education so as to concentrate on raising money for the examinations. Some of my classmates donated some money but it was not enough. I started to go to the nearby bus terminus to sell some vegetables and fruits,” says Emily.

Emily says one day when she was selling eggs at the bus terminus, some rowdy men threatened to take her wares by force. She says she was fortunate that she was helped by a man from the local community who was a distant relative who she had known as an uncle.

“I was relieved when my uncle intervened. We were not closely related but his help made me trust him. He was at the bus terminus most of the time and we started to get along well. He told me not to worry anymore because he would provide for me. I innocently believed him. As time went by, he gave me some money and a cellphone so that I could call him any time I needed help,” says Emily.

Emily says 12 June is her birthday and she was elated when her uncle told her that they should go out to celebrate. She says she had never celebrated her birthday and this invitation thrilled her.

“We went to a nearby restaurant and my uncle ordered nice food and drinks. After the food we danced but I told him I was uncomfortable and wanted to go back home. He took me back and when we arrived it was a bit late. He tried to kiss me but I refused. I rushed into the house but he followed. He grabbed me and menacingly told me that he expected me to do what he wanted since he was helping me financially,” says Emily.

Emily adds that his uncle took out some money from his wallet and threw it at her saying if she wanted more she should just say so. She says her uncle pushed her on the flow and raped her.

“The following morning I could not walk properly. I was traumatized by the violent incident but there was no one I could tell. I later went to the clinic where I told the nurse about what had happened. I was examined and the nurses phoned the police to make a report. My uncle was arrested and later sentenced to 20 years in prison,” says Emily.

Emily says although she feels safe that her uncle is behind bars, she feels unsafe about staying alone. Emily says there are many other cases of rape in her community where some girls are living in child headed families or where parents have gone to the diaspora. She feels that the Government should set up centres to support the girl child.

Emily says she later received support from one of her teachers who heard about her ordeal. She managed to sit for her examinations and passed her ordinary level examinations.