Zimbabwe Records Alarming Surge in Fathers Raping Their Own Children

By Michael Gwarisa

Zimbabwe is facing a chilling rise in sexual gender-based violence (SGBV), with authorities reporting a surge in cases of fathers raping their own children. Officials from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) say the trend, which began escalating during the COVID-19 pandemic, is worsening with no signs of slowing down.

Speaking at the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) Action Indaba on Gender-Based Violence in Harare, Tracey Mundanga, Principal Public Prosecutor at the NPA, described the situation as deeply worrying.

The father-daughter rapes are on the increase, and you’ll be surprised, father-son aggravated sexual assault cases are also rising,” she said.

Her concerns were echoed by Superintendent Tanga of the ZRP’s Victim Friendly Unit, who revealed that law enforcement officers are documenting multiple cases daily.

“Of late, we have been receiving an average of five to six cases every day involving fathers, stepfathers, uncles, or relatives raping children. Fathers have become the main perpetrators,” she said. She added that underreporting remains a serious challenge, with many families opting not to report abuse due to fear, stigma, or cultural pressures.

Authorities are also alarmed by other disturbing patterns, including sibling incest, and abuse by religious leaders, traditional healers, and other authority figures. “The more our economy struggles, the more people seek religious solutions, and sadly, those spaces have also become places of abuse. Sibling rapes are also on the rise,” Mundanga noted.

She described cases where brothers and sisters openly identify as lovers. “It’s no longer considered taboo. Some siblings boldly say they are in relationships. For example, the brother is 20, the sister is 18, and they are not ashamed. In some cases, the girl is pregnant,” she said.

Mundanga also pointed to increasing sexual offences among minors, largely fueled by exposure to sexually explicit content online and through unsupervised use of mobile phones.

While some countries in the region have recorded a decline in gender-based violence, Zimbabwe appears to be moving in the opposite direction. According to Vimbai Mutendereki, Executive Director of Musasa Project, most survivors know their perpetrators. “In 80% of the cases, it is someone intimately known to the survivor,” she said.

Musasa has supported close to 40,000 survivors annually for the past five years.

[pullquote]“In 2024, we received 39,296 cases. In 2023, 40,675 cases. In 2022, 39,827. These are women and girls seeking counselling, legal support, shelter, or toll-free line assistance,” Mutendereki explained.[/pullquote]

She added that despite consistent interventions, the number of survivors remains disturbingly high year after year.

A World Bank survey also revealed that Zimbabwe’s prevalence of physical GBV remains relatively unchanged, while harmful practices such as child marriage persist. At least 33.7% of women marry before the age of 18, while 5.4% of men marry before 15. Workplace harassment is also escalating, with data showing that over 90% of women report experiencing sexual harassment at work.

In 2021, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared GBV a national emergency. Following this, Zimbabwe launched the High-Level Political Compact on Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practices (HLPC), a strategic framework running from 2021 to 2030. Mercy Jaravani, WCoZ National Coordinator, said the Indaba was an opportunity to reflect on progress made so far.

“The HLPC is the roadmap for Zimbabwe in addressing GBV. It runs from 2021 to 2030, meaning we are almost halfway through. This meeting is about reflecting on the current GBV situation, the trends we are witnessing, and how far we have come in implementing the HLPC,” she said.

Despite this blueprint, civil society leaders say the crisis is escalating, and more urgent action is needed. Muchanyara Cynthia Mukamuri, WCoZ Chairperson, underscored the urgency. “Women suffer multiple problems, and today we are discussing GBV because of the escalating cases being reported, including femicide,” she said.

Stakeholders including the NPA, ZRP, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, WCoZ, and civil society partners are calling for stronger accountability systems, increased community awareness, and reinforced survivor support mechanisms. Experts note that poverty, harmful cultural practices, weak enforcement of laws, and lack of resources continue to fuel the crisis.

The Action Indaba ran under the theme “Pursuing the National Vision of a Gender-Based Violence-Free Society by 2030: The High-Level Political Compact on Ending GBV and Harmful Practices.” As Zimbabwe pushes toward 2030, the challenge remains daunting: reversing a crisis that is tearing families apart, stripping children of their innocence, and threatening to entrench cycles of trauma across generations.