WVP Kenya
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • Background
    • Where we work
    • How we work
    • Memberships
    • News
    • The team
    • Patrons
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Education and vocational training
    • Community livelihood initiatives
    • Child welfare promotion
    • Infrastructure development
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • Newsletters and Annual Reports
    • Research
    • Resources
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Donate >
      • Single online donation
      • Make monthly donation
      • Via SMS
      • Payroll giving
    • Fundraise
    • Volunteer
    • Job opportunities
  • CONTACT US

Orphans may be at greater risk of sexual abuse

7/28/2009

0 Comments

 
JOHANNESBURG (IRIN/Plus News) — Girls who have been orphaned may be twice as likely to experience sexual abuse, according to research from child-friendly clinics in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

Dr. Eunice Lyn Garura, Director of the Family Support Trust, an NGO operating clinics for survivors of sexual abuse, said 30 percent of the predominantly female clients were orphans who had lost both parents. The Trust runs four clinics, including one in Harare Central Hospital, which caters to some of the city's high-density areas.

Research showed that vulnerability had been exacerbated by government “clean-up” efforts, such as Operation Murambatsvina, which forcibly removed many orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) and their families from their homes and left them living on the street. Greater numbers of children coming to the clinic reported abuse, and higher percentages reported they had been raped or abused by strangers.

Delays in Disclosing mean Delays in Treatment

Almost 90 percent of orphans arrived at Harare Central Hospital clinic too late for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which must be administered within 72 hours of HIV exposure to prevent infection, said Garura, who presented her findings at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week.

The delay was often due to the children's difficulty in disclosing abuse, usually to older female relatives such as mothers, aunts or grandmothers. “Young children can't verbalize when abuse has taken place, and it takes time for them to disclose,” she said. “Often, we adults don't want to believe this could happen to my child ... there's ... denial.”

Teenage girls, the highest percentage of clinic users, were also hesitant to disclose abuse - often by their boyfriends - for fear of admitting to relatives that they were sexually active.

About six percent of the children participating in the research were found to be HIV-positive after suffering abuse, but researchers could not say whether their status was as a direct consequence.

Garura warned that HIV prevalence among the survivors was likely to be higher, as many children were tested in the “window period”, before HIV tests were likely to detect infection.

She called for more research on the possible links between orphanhood and vulnerability and sexual abuse among Zimbabwe's children, who were experiencing economic conditions unprecedented in the country's history.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    March 2018
    October 2016
    May 2016
    October 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    September 2013
    August 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    July 2011
    October 2009
    September 2009
    July 2009

    Categories

    All
    Aids
    Arv
    Ccct
    Child Protection
    Community Capacity Building
    Education
    Exhibition
    Fundraising
    Hiv Treatment
    Marathon
    M&E
    Newsletter
    Orphan Support
    Other News
    Personal Challenge
    Research
    Vacancy
    Wvp Kenya
    Wvp News

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.