Speaking as Minister of Health and Child Care, he rejected
a proposal in a report tabled by the portfolio committee on Health and Child
Care that parental consent should no longer be sought when a child wanted to access
medical treatment, including contraceptives.
The committee, chaired by Proportional Representative MP Dr
Ruth Labode, had called for the removal of age restrictions on access to
reproductive health services like the requirement of consent from a guardian
for a child to receive medical treatment.
VP Chiwenga said while Zimbabwe did not have legislation
specifying at what age parental consent was no longer required to receive
medical treatment, the common practice was that parental consent was required
to provide medical treatment to a child under 16 years.
“Since a child under the age of 16 years cannot consent to
sexual intercourse in practice, it is presumed that a child under the age of 16
years does not need contraceptives.
“Emergency contraceptives would be considered a form of
medical treatment and therefore, individuals aged under 16 would require
parental consent to access them in practice,” said VP Chiwenga.
He also gave health implications of initiating young girls
on contraceptives. “Anatomy of teenagers is not fully developed to be able to
carry the pregnancy and its complications which include obstructed labour,
obstetric fistulas, symphysis pubis diastasis and ultimately maternal death.
Early sexual debut increases risk of these adolescents to cervical cancer,
sexually transmitted infections including HIV Chlamydia and gonorrhoea which
have adverse effects on future fertility. Methods of contraception are not 100
percent effective therefore these adolescents remain at a higher risk of
complications in case of unwanted pregnancies.”
VP Chiwenga said entrapping the girl-child in child bearing
had the effect of creating a vicious cycle of poverty.
“If age restriction for accessing reproductive healthcare
services is removed, the interpretation is that, a person who can decide when
to use contraceptives also has power as to decide when they can indulge in
sexual activity and also as when they want to have a baby. This will be a time bomb for immorality
against the diverse cultural and religious communities in Zimbabwe and a high
potential of increased burden on Government’s social security nets, where high
numbers of children will be having children out of wedlock,” said VP Chiwenga.
He said there was need to align the statutory criminal law
with the Constitution, and align any variations in the range of laws with the
Constitution, which basically sets this age at 18 years when a Zimbabwean
becomes a full legal adult.
VP Chiwenga said there were numerous challenges posed by
the various statutory clauses regarding age of consent as they were at variance
with the Constitution which set the age of 18 years when a Zimbabwean can
marry. He said age of consent to sexual activity is set at 16 years for both
boys and girls who are unmarried while the Criminal Law Codification and Reform
Act currently provides that the age of consent to sexual activity for married
couples is 12 years.
The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act also limited
the offence of “sexual intercourse with young persons” to where the perpetrator
has “extra marital sexual intercourse” with a young person. This poses
challenges as it linked sexual activity with marriage, said VP Chiwenga.
On HIV testing and accessing results, VP Chiwenga said
children under 16 may consent to it if they are married, pregnant or a parent,
or they can demonstrate that they are mature enough to make a decision on their
own.
“In addition, if a parent or care-giver cannot or will not
give consent for a child under 16 years, the attending health worker can seek
approval from hospital authorities or the Minister to give treatment without
parental consent if it is in the best interest of the child. The requirement to
“demonstrate that they are mature enough to make the decision on their own”
raises challenges as the term was vague,” said VP Chiwenga. Herald
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