Warning: This story contains painful details.
A protest march was held in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, against a series of recent reports of child rape.
Over the past two months, Zambians have been shocked by several child rape cases, some of which resulted in death.
One of the most terrifying reports was that the father allegedly raped his seven-year-old daughter while in a hospital where he was treated for cancer.
It was also reported that a group of five-year-old men were allegedly raped by four men, while another father was sentenced to jail for rape and infection of his six-year-old genital warts, a sexually transmitted infection.
Zambia’s Attorney General Kasune-Zulu called for casting child rapists as an extreme measure to stop perpetrators and protect children from abuse.
She recently told parliament: “How low can we go as a country as a society? It’s disgusting. Now, that’s beyond the law – Zambians question why our morals have faded, it’s up to us.”
Following the report, civil society organizations, musicians and individuals held a protest march on Thursday, calling on the government to amend the law to impose tougher penalties on child rapists.
In a petition handed over to Vice President Mutale Nalumango, they demanded changes to the law so that the person accused of child rape would not be granted bail.
In response, Nalumango said the issue involves everyone and Zambians must stand.
Protesters want to change the law to prevent child suspects from bail [Sista D]
A musician who participated in the protest march told the BBC that “we need to create a safe environment for our children”.
Daputsa Nkhata-Zulu (also known as Sista d) added that child rapists should be cut “for the safety of the children and deprived them of their masculinity because they should not be.”
In the last three months of 2024, Zambia recorded more than 10,000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) involving children, according to Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. These are mainly in the capital Lusaka.
According to the 2024 annual GBV data analysis of Zambian Police, more than 32,000 people received GBV consultation last year.
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