Child rights organisation Shamwari yeMwanasikana on Tuesday launched a programme targeting boys and men in the fight for the rights of young girls.
Director Ekenia Chifamba told Studio 7 her organisation has decided to target these two groups in its campaign so that they can be part of the solution as incidents of girl child abuse go up in Zimbabwe.
She said recent statistics indicate that an average of 11 young girls are abused daily and awareness programs like these help in assisting reduce these rape cases among children.
"The event was titled men as role models forum and we hope that by educating the boys and men to respect the rights of girls and women we will help reduce the escalating figures of girl rights abuse.
"We are happy with the response we are getting from the boys and men on the program. We hope that this will help men to become part of the solution not the problem,"said Chifamba.
Several guests, including Canadian ambassador to Zimbabwe Kumar Gupta, attended the launch. Gupta urged men to help in curbing rape cases.
Chifamba said the collaboration of her organisation with the Canadian Embassy was very important as the embassy has a vibrant program that is helping fight early child marriages.
