August 2001 Insights Gender Violence Special Issue

Child abuse by teachers in Zimbabwe

Analysis of 246 reported cases of abuse by teachers in secondary schools in Zimbabwe, 1990 to 1997, identified 212 cases of sexual abuse, 33 cases of physical abuse and one case of emotional abuse.

Sexual abuse
The tables below show that most sexual abuse perpetrators (99.1 percent) were male. 69.3 percent were under 30 years old, 29.7 percent were 30-40, 1 percent was over 40. Furthermore 81.6 percent of perpetrators were trained teachers. 65.6 percent of perpetrators had had 'sexual intercourse' with their pupils and other abuses include writing love letters, fondling (breasts, buttocks, thighs, private parts), kissing or hugging, rape, attempted rape, and showing pornographic material to a pupil.

Physical Abuse
Analysis of the 33 cases shows that most perpetrators (94.1 percent) were male and trained. Most pupils (75.8 percent) had been caned, beaten, whipped, or hit without the head teacher's authority. Others had been slapped, punched, and one pupil was kicked. The study found that 80 percent of the pupils caned, beaten, whipped or hit were male. Although corporal punishment of female pupils is banned it is clear that it is used on both sexes.

All pupils punched or kicked by perpetrators were male whilst female pupils were slapped or caned. Emotional Abuse
One case of emotional abuse was reported: a male teacher had made male and female pupils kneel on hot cement surfaces without shoes and all had developed blisters on their feet.

Almon Shumba
Department of Educational Foundations
University of Botswana
Post bag UB 00702
Gabarone
Botswana
shumbaaeducation@mopipi.ub.bw