It’s Sexual Abuse For Men To Force Their Wives To Have Sex With Them -Kakusa

Council of Churches in Zambia gender programmes officer Chiluba Kakusa says it is sexual abuse for men to force their wives to have sex with them.
And Kakusa  says the Church has been sweeping gender-based violence (GBV) cases under the carpet.
In an interview in Ndola yesterday, Kakusa said for a long time, the Church had been massaging GBV cases.
“Even married couples, when a woman does not want to have sex, but because it is tradition, she just has to, that is sexual abuse,” she said.
“Sexual abuse is any act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, unwanted sexual comments or advances, acts to traffic a person or acts directed against a person’s sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim. Sexual abuse can happen anytime or anywhere and it is one of the most traumatic, pervasive and most common human rights violations.”
Kakusa said withdrawal of GBV cases from the police by the clergy was hampering efforts to reduce the scourge.
“The cases of GBV are escalating because people don’t want to report the cases. Churches are sweeping GBV cases under the carpet, especially if they are concerning their members or if it involves the pastors themselves in the name of saving the church. Pastors and the clergy are the ones who are supposed to report such cases to the police. People look up to the clergy and they will listen if they discouraged GBV in society,” she said.
Kakusa said the clergy were in the forefront encouraging members of their churches to withdraw GBV cases in the name of protecting the Church.
“The Church has an important role to play when it comes to GBV cases. Churches and faith groups have an indispensable role in changing prejudices that are deeply rooted in culture, tradition and religion,” she said.
Kakusa also said people should not think that physical abuse was the only form of GBV.
She said assault, torture, defilement, rape, incest, indecent assault, use of insulting language, property grabbing, failing to provide for the family and depriving beneficiaries were all forms of GBV.
And Kakusa said 172 sexual abuse cases were reported between November 2012 and August 2013, with 89 per cent of these involving girls below the age of 16.

Posted by Kunda on September 20, 2014. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry