Number 61                                                             February     2004
Long Sentencing Of Defilers Cheers LRF
By Perpetual Sichikwenkwe
The Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) on the Copperbelt says it is happy with the way courts are now sentencing child defilers compared to previous years.
The Foundation said the sentencing of child defilers with long sentences was now fair adding this would help reduce the increasing number of defilement cases.
LRF Kitwe paralegal Paul Hibweengwa said the short sentence given to culprits in the past was one of the reasons why defilers repeated the vice.
He said the move by magistrates to increase the punishment on defilers was a welcome one saying people should not be comfortable to break the law with impunity without any regard to the consequences.
He said what defilers must always bear in mind was that defilement caused permanent damage to the victim.
Hibweengwa however bemoaned the exaggerated number of defilement cases that were reported by the media saying it was disturbing as it gave a wrong picture of statistics to society.
He said some families had taken advantage of the situation and used defilement as a means of earning a living.
Hibweengwa said this was evident in the fact that many families opted to settle defilement cases outside court as long as they were given money.