PARLIAMENT has summoned Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to present a Bill that criminalises having sex with minors under 18.
This follows the Constitutional Court’s recent landmark ruling increasing the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18. According to the verdict, Ziyambi has up to a year to enact a law that protects children from sexual exploitation following the provisions of the Constitution. This follows the Constitutional Court’s recent landmark ruling increasing the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18.
According to the ruling, Ziyambi has up to a year to enact a law that protects children from sexual exploitation in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. “So the minister must come up with a comprehensive Bill — protecting children, giving life to the children’s rights set out in Section 81 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
“The implicit ruling by the Constitutional Court is that the Child Protection Adoption Act must also be revisited. It still sets a child’s age at 16 and does not offer sufficient protection, particularly for those between 16 and 18; also, children still face discrimination from the inheritance point of view.”