Is legalising ‘child sex’ the most sensible solution for Zimbabwe?

By Annah Bengesai, PhD, University of KwaZulu-Natal

The recent convergence on the issue of the age of sexual consent in Zimbabwe is an indication of a society which has matured enough to talk about sex. In fact, it is an overdue dialogue which should not only be conducted in and through the media or the courts of law, but should proliferate to the grassroots.

Indeed, no-one in their right mind wants to see children being sexually exploited. It is not surprising therefore, that the Zimbabwean top legislator, Prosecutor-General (PG) Johannes Tomana came under fire in the past few weeks over allegedly ‘supporting child marriages’.

While in his defence, the PG has maintained that his critics have misrepresented the facts and quoted him out context, it remains a fact that his utterances have trivialised the issue of child sex and reduced it to one word; “consent’.

At the same time, critics have disproportionately given the PG attention, without providing an evidence-based analysis of their criticisms. The issue of child marriage has been the most vocalised argument, which albeit very important, does not in the least of ways capture all that is wrong with legalising child sex.

But perhaps, the fixation is justified, considering the Zimbabwean issue coincided with the Africa Union Summit on ending child marriage in Africa.

I do not claim to be a legal expert (in fact that would be presumptuous). However, I write from a position of enunciation which I can defend empirically and experientially. I approach the issue from a social scientist perspective, as a mother of a teenager and as a woman who was once a girl.

What is age of consent?

Age of sexual consent generally refers to the “age at which a person is legally capable to agree to sexual intercourse”. This is premised on the need to protect young girls from sexual predators. Hence, any older person above 18 years who has sex, consensual or not, with a minor (as defined by the law) is guilty of rape or statutory rape.

Globally, the mean age of sexual consent is 16 years old, although other countries such as Angola, South Africa and now Zimbabwe have set it at 12. Still, the law in countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa is rather complex in that the constitutional legal age is set at 16, while provisions are made for girls as young as 12 to engage in consensual sex as long as their sexual partners are also teenagers or as in the South African case, only two years older than them. This is done to protect ‘horny’ teenagers from being lumped into the same category with paedophiles.

In spite of the justification, the issue of consent is not as simple as ‘yes’ or ‘no’, especially where children as young as 12 years old are concerned.

We need to understand that the expression of consent by a 12 year old is not the same as when an adult says ‘yes’. At the border of childhood and early adolescence, children are still trying to figure out who they are, their identity and purpose. So a yes at this age is not necessarily an expression of human autonomy, but rather, a mimicry of the ‘noise’ surrounding the child.

Sexualising children,

We live in a world were sexual imagery is everywhere. Granted, this affects people in any age group, yet, adolescents (10-19) are the most vulnerable. This is because age influences the level of understanding and the interpretation of these sexual messages and most young people are pressured into keeping up with what is perceived as a sexual image.

Legalising child sex further sexualises them and sends yet another message that it is ok to engage in sex early. Simply put, such a law makes a dangerous overreach into our children’s undies. 

Children want to have sex,

There is a (mis)conception that children want to have sex, and, according to the PG, some girls might want to start families early. This assumption is not only erroneous, but also shows the limited understanding of adolescence and the ‘density’ of transitions and experiences this age group goes through. In reality many young boys and girls do not want to have sex. However, most lack the confidence, (social and emotional) to say NO and are often ‘bullied’ into conforming. Lowering the age of consent will simply escalate sexual exploitation.

Public policy and empirical evidence

Public policy should be grounded in empirical evidence. Age of coital debut is an important indicator and should be used as a proxy for determining age of consent. Research evidence from Zimbabwe puts the mean age of coital debut at 18, with an interquartile range of 16-21.

In light of this, lowering the age of consent to 12 is not supported by empirical evidence and does not make any sense. Spain had the age of consent set at 13, while the age of first sex was (and still is) 19 for girls and 18 for boys.

Consequently, age of consent has now been raised to 16. Chile had an age of consent set at 12, now raised to 14, while the mean sexual debut is 15 for girls and 14 for boys. While other countries are raising the age of consent, it is baffling that Zimbabwe, given the status quo, is doing the opposite.

Age of consent is arbitrary

In setting the age of consent at 12, the legislators are forgetting a crucial issue. Age of consent is arbitrary. Yes, some young girls might be physically mature at 12, yet emotionally and psychologically not ready for a sexual relationship, and most importantly, the myriad of consequences of having sex; teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, STIs and HIV/Aids, unsupported parenthood, abortion, societal disapproval etc. Such young girls are at risk of exploitation as they might consent to something that they are not ready for.

Further statistics,

The UNFPA (2013) records an increase in teenage pregnancy in Zimbabwe among 15-19 year olds from 99 per 1000 girls to 155 per 1000 girls between 2008 and 2013. Further, 92% of sexually active girls were pregnant during the same time. Stop!! They are already having unprotected sex!! And now, we are legalising it!

It is not surprising that an estimated 25% of young girls aged 15-24 in Zimbabwe are HIV positive as compared to a mere 9% of males in the same age category. Are all these factors irrelevant in decisions about age of sexual consent?

By the way, complications during childbirth are the second cause of mortality among teenage girls. Legalising child sex, is yet another death warrant on this demographic.

As a last word,

Zimbabwe, with all our socio-economic and health related problems, are we prepared to deal with the consequences of childhood legalised sex?

Statistics from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2013. Adolescent Pregnancy: A Review of the Evidence, New York.

Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey, (ZDHS) 2010/2011.

Annah Bengesai Ph.D. You can contact the writer on email [email protected]