Age of Consent: Cause for Concern

By Ivy Chibanda

An average twelve year old is at school right now, in class, doing her math, content or reading a passage in ‘Nhaka Youpenyu‘ so that she writes her nzwisiso. She probably isn’t concentrating much because she is thinking of the weekend, the games she will play with her friends, or probably the new dress she will wear to church on Sunday and show off to her friends.

She is thinking of which cartoon to watch and what she will buy with the five rand she’s been given for pocket money. She will have to decide whether to buy a packet of jiggies, nibble naks or lollipops. That decision might even stress her out more than deciding which secondary school to go to next year.

The thing she is considering first is whether the school allows them to plait their hair or not, whether the results at the school are good or not, she doesn’t care. Whenever she throws a tantrum over failing to go for a trip, she can be tamed with chocolate or a day out at the long-chen plaza.

That young girl who depends on her parents for everything, who is still tucked into bed and still doesn’t understand the reason behind having to bath twice a day, is the same little girl whom is being thought off as the girl who can consent to sex.

Most of the children in their early teens can give in to anything they would have been offered, if they are offered something better than what they get from home. They sometimes don’t understand the reason in telling them not to accept gifts from older men or having boyfriends, for them they are being deprived of their joy.

They do not really understand that for the men and boyfriends that give them gifts, there’s nothing that comes for free, there are consequences and you have to be willing to give ‘something’ in return.

Declaring the age of consent at twelve has only put the young girls at risk of rape and has exposed them to sexually transmitted diseases simply because the law in a way has given leverage to perpetrators of rape and to the old men who have always had a ‘thing’ for young children.

This year’s theme of the day of the African child is ‘Accelerating our collective efforts to end child marriage in Africa’. It’s ironic how at a time where a number of organizations are trying as much as possible to find ways to eradicate child marriages is the same time at which the age of consent has been changed to twelve from sixteen.

According to the Convention on the rights of children, a child is anyone below the age of eighteen, hence the fight of child marriages affects anyone under the age of eighteen.

The age of consent contradicts with the fight to end child marriages. Many children are being married off below the age of eighteen with some reasons being because of poverty. They might not want to get married but they are forced to because of consequences.

They will not be able to go to school and there won’t be reason to stay at home and do nothing, the only solution that would have been left is to get married.

Maybe they changed the age of consent  from the age of sixteen to twelve because a number of teens are dodging school and running off with sugar daddies or boyfriends during school time but then what is the percentage of those who are naughty compared to the innocent ones.

The problem is, the law enforcers are not looking at the underlying factors that are leading to children indulging in sexual activities at a very young age, they are rather putting the children at fault.

The issue of age of consent mirrors how society views the girl child as the girls are most affected, much older boyfriends will rape them and no matter how the girl will try to explain herself, the defendant will always defend themselves with the fact that they were in a relationship.

In most cases, those who are found guilty of rape are given not more than five years in jail yet those who are found guilty of stock theft are given stiffer penalties. This leaves a lot to be desired. It gives the impression that the girl child is of less importance compared to a cow, maybe it’s because the cow gives meat, but what about the girl child, who is the future of tomorrow.

Rape causes so much trauma for years. I have seen old women who were raped many years ago, when they try to tell their story, they shake, they might seem strong but deep down, they are  still traumatized. The person who would have put them through that trauma would be roaming around free, probably looking for their next victim.

The issue of supporting the girl child is a pertinent issue, it’s an issue that has been overlooked, an issue which people only read on billboards and from the press and really never take much consideration on.

Supporting the girl child means supporting her from birth, taking her to school and helping her achieve the highest level of education and allowing  her to get married when she is old enough to decide. It is about protecting her from these sexual predators and giving the girl child the power to say ‘NO!’.

I hope one day the law will take this seriously, and remember that this causes a number of problems, not only to the well being of the child, it affects the family, society, the nation and the whole of Africa. It undermines the goal of empowering the girl child. The law has the greatest responsibility in protecting the girl child and it begins by reconsidering the age of consent.

You can visit Ivy Chibanda’s blog: Ms Resolute