Faculty of Social Sciences

Department of Media and Society Studies

Name: Dominic Zuze R192424B

Level: 4.2

Supervisor: Mr Makoma

Topic: The framing of the impregnation of 9 years old Tsholotsho girl in the Herald

Dissertation proposal
INTRODUCTION
Child sexual abuse is a serious social disorder. In Zimbabwe there has been an alarming increase
in the number of reported cases of child sexual abuse. The Constitution defines a child as a boy
or a girl under the age of 18 years. Section 81 of the Constitution proclaims that every child has
the right to be protected against sexual exploitation and Ssection 19 of the Constitution places an
obligation upon the State to adopt reasonable measures to ensure that children are protected
against all forms of abuse.

Zimbabwe has experienced economic collapse over the past two decades and as result , fewer
resources are being directed towards child protection which then lowers the living conditions for
children.Children are consequently exposed to the risk of CSA due to their vulnerability to pover
ty. In this dire situation, the mass media and civil society organisations are overly responsible
for overseeing and identifying exposing such social evil. The study, therefore, is an analysis of
the framing of the impregnation of a 9 year old Tsholotsho girl by Tthe Herald which is a
state-owned daily newspaper published in Harare Zimbabwe . The study also focuses on
how the story was covered, paying attention to the manner in which journalists presented the
story to the audience. The coverage of this incestuous sensitive story sparked controversy in the
whole country and the world at large.

The framing of this story was a wake-up call to all stakeholders: the government, the civil
society organisations and the society to join hands and fight this social ill. It served as a way to
spread awareness and, of course, to defend the rights of all children, regardless of their
circumstances. The media is of paramount importance in this regard. .They serve as the public's
eyes, ears, and voices, calling attention to violations of human rights and abuses of authority.
Through their activities, they can persuade authorities and groups from civil society to make
adjustments that will raise the standard of living for citizens

Literature, statistics and debate reflect not only increased scientific interest in sexual abuse and
its potential effects but also growing public concern about this form of child maltreatment
(Muridzo2014). The high rate of child sexual abuse is partly a result of cultural and religious
customs..Child sexual abuse transcends social, cultural, and economic barriers. Sexual abuse is a 
major issue for people, families, and cultures since it can have long-lasting effects.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as other parts of the world, child sexual abuse is a serious
violation of human rights. According to WHO Child sexual abuse (CSA) is the involvement of a
child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed
consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or
that violates the laws or social taboos of society. It is a most cruel and tragic occurrence and a
serious infringement of a child’s rights to health and protection.

In Zimbabwe, violence against women and girls has reached epidemic proportions. The media
has been critical in keeping the issue of child sexual abuse on the public's radar and on the
political agenda. Press coverage of child protection concerns not only influences the formation of
institutions and policies, but it can also influence people's individual behavior.

The reporting of cChild sexual abuses raises public awareness about child protection issues,
which encourages both the public and victims to report incidences of child abuse to the
appropriate authorities. Thus, the media has played an important role, for example, in portraying
child abuse as a social problem. According to Powell and Scanlon (date of publication), media
coverage of child abuse has transformed the once-dominantly taboo topic into a recognized big
societal concern.s

FRAMING

Media framing can simply be described as the angle or perspective from which a news story is
told. The concept of framing is that the media focuses attention on certain events and then places
them within a field of meaning. According to Hallahan (1999) there are three forms of framing;
valence framing, semantic framing, and story framing. Valence Framing is putting information in
either a positive or negative light. When framing creates a positive valence it is associated with
beliefs, values, traditions and rituals that people cherish.

In reporting this case the Herald demonised child defilement as a socially unacceptable
behaviour within the society and urged law enforcement agents to convict perpetrators of
CSA .Evidence of framing techniques in this case is mostly noticeable through the use of
catchphrase and jargon.

Framing is very closely tied to Agenda Setting theory. Both focus on how media draws the
public’s eye to specific topics. In this way they set the agenda. Likewise in this case ,the framing
of this story had an open agenda that is of the prevalence of Child sexual abuse. The manner in
which these stories were reported showed various underlying themes such as prevalence of
human rights infringement, child abuse and gender based violence of any kind within the
society. In simple terms child sexual abuse is the underlying message or the topic of the matter in
this case.

The Herald's approach in framing this story was largely interpretative . This approach was
largely used in order to educate and inform more audiences .The main emphasis behind
coverage of this story was because of the increase in the number of sexually abused minors in
Zimbabwe as reported by the mass media. The majority of the defilers are usually either the
child's biological father, uncle, garden boy, adult male living in the same residence and/or in
close proximity to the girl child. In a similar case Another 9 year old girl was reported to have
been sexually harassed in November 2022 by two 17 year old boys in Kambira village in
Bindura.Lupande( 2022).

The increase in CSA cases, some of which resulted in minors falling pregnant and then dying
while giving birth is traumatising .The case of Memory Machaya a fifteen year old girl who died
whilst giving birth at an Apostolic sect shrine in Marange in 2021.The death of Memory sparked
countrywide controversy which resulted in the prosecution of the girl's parents and her said
husband Hatirarami Momberume as reported by Nemukuyu and Mupanedemo(2021)
Sexually abused children don’t come out in the open to reveal their experience because most of
the defilers are people they know and respect like parents and their guardians. In this case the
suspected sexual abuser was the biological father of the girl according to the girl's
narrative.However , DNA results carried out revealed that the father of the child was the 13
year old cousin of the girl.

A sadistic cycle of blame is established and often, the child who may already be feeling guilty
bears it all alone. Mothers who become aware of their daughters defilement by their husbands,
are time and again ashamed that they had failed to protect their children or that they failed to see
the signs of abuse and could not act appropriately . Often mothers choose to keep quiet when
husbands are involved for fear of losing a breadwinner in case those husbands are convicted of
this horrible crime. Much more needs to be done to protect children from this vice. More
importantly a solution should be found to improve the reporting and prosecution of defilement
cases against girls.

MEDIA AND CIVIL SOCIETY AS A WATCHDOG OF SOCIETY

Mass media is any medium used to transmit mass communication. The ability of the media to
reach a wide audience with a strong and influential message has the potential to have a strong
social and cultural impact on society. According to (Chambers & Kopstein, 2008 and Edwards,
2011) civil society is an independent and a non-governmental body or movement which operates
inter-dependently with the government for civil liberties and responsibilities in the promotion of
the overall welfare of the citizenry. Civil society organizations include schools and colleges,
advocacy groups, professional organisations, churches, and cultural institutions that are not
affiliated with the government. Civil society groups serve different functions .CSO such as as
Shamwari yemwanasikana are of paramount importance in protecting girl child rights.

The media and the civil society organisations are responsible for overseeing and undertaking
special measures in response towards child abuse. According to Judge (2018) sexual violence is
the most annoying form that civil societies are keenly interested in tackling because it is an act
that is targeted against the vulnerable and weak section of the society that cannot retaliate,
protect itself or even pursue justice appropriately (Judge, 2018).
Over the past years cases of child marriages has been on the rise but no follow up action are
taken by the authorities in curbing this social disorder. Child marriage is still common in
Zimbabwe. One out of every three women married before the age of 18.

The coverage of Memory Machaya's death ,9 yrs old Tsholotsho girl and another 9 year old
Bindura girl by the print media,television and radio broadcasting had a positive effect on
society on raising awareness throughout the country. The government in response to the
Machaya’s case intensified child protection in communities as reported by Zhakata (2021)

After the Tsholotsho scandal , A 16 days of Activism was held against child sexual abuse as
reported by Zinyuke( Nov 2022) in the ,Herald. Despite all the efforts by the government, the
media and civil society organisation in curbing child abuse more cases are recorded

The Zimbabwean government established institutions, laws, and policies to prevent child
marriage in the country. On May 27, 2022, the President of Zimbabwe signed into law The
Marriages Act, which prevents children under the age of 18 from getting married.

The civil society in this regard are a vital source of information for citizens as well as the
government. They keep an eye on society and government policies and activities and hold them
accountable. They advocate for alternative policies for the government, the corporate sector, and
other organizations. They provide services, particularly to the impoverished and disadvantaged.
They fight for citizen rights and strive to modify and maintain societal norms and practices
 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Child sexual abuse is a social ill which affects all members of society .According to statistics,
there is a rise in the number of juvenile sexual offenses reported, but only a small proportion of
cases result in prosecution. Despite the fact that there are many sexual offenses against .Many
children are abused by people whom they know such as relatives, religious leaders, step fathers,
care-givers and even biological fathers Defilement cases are many and are reported but not all
reported cases are prosecuted.

All convicted abusers have received harsh penalties or sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years in
prison. The issue is that, despite these harsh sentences, an increasing number of children are
being reported as having been defiled. This implies that the environment in which the children
are growing up is no longer safe. This causes the children, particularly the girls, to live in
extremely difficult circumstances, which has a negative impact on their development.

Another source of concern is the number of child abuse awareness campaigns that have been
carried out. However, it appears that these are not producing positive results, as evidenced by the
significant increase in reported child abuse cases since 2000.This could be attributed to
ineffective communication strategies used by the media and civil society organizations to
educate the public about this vice. It may also imply that the messages being disseminated are
ineffective and may be directed at the wrong people
OBJECTIVES

 Propagating the establishment and growth of a dynamic, unbiased media that

authentically reports on issues pertaining to child safety without fear or favor, and whose
primary concern while reporting is the child's best interests.

A sense of impartiality should be used while covering child protection, yet effect should
still be a priority. It is clear that Zimbabwe's state-run media continues to cover the news
with a bias favoring the government. This may be explained by apprehension for
prosecution and job loss if one reported something illegal. Because of this, it's possible
that journalists may place politics above accurately reporting the news and upholding any
ethical concerns. The breach of some rights may occur when children's rights are
concerned.
1) To establish how The Herald framed the story in which a 9-year old was impregnated
2 To find out reasons for the nature of coverage that the story received.
2) To ascertain if there were other discourses that came out in the coverage of the story
in which the 9-year old was impregnated.
 Promoting ongoing training for media professionals on the legal and policy frameworks
governing child protection.

The breadth and depth of journalism will be increased by becoming aware with and
knowledgeable about the enormous diversity of laws and policies pertaining to child
safety

 Fostering child engagement in the media and on other platforms so that they can speak
out about issues that concern them.

It's crucial to keep in mind that children are better qualified to discuss topics that directly
affect them than adults , therefore the media should give them more media time than
 adults and politicians. However, this needs to be encouraged within the parameters and
bounds of suitable.

 Mouldering public opinion on child violation cases.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 What guidelines are in place to assist media professionals when reporting on children’s
issues?
 How can the challenges of child safety in Zimbabwe be covered more frequently in the
media?
 In what capacity does the media in Zimbabwe play in matters pertaining to child
protection?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The main aim of the study was to focus on the framing of child sexual offences cases in
Zimbabwe which has been on the rise , despite the mass media attempts in discouraging this
vice. The research aimed at analysing the efforts of the state-owned newspaper (Herald) in
covering such sensitive cases paying special attention to underlying message, diction and
jargon.The study also focuses on how the Herald represents its stories on this topic to the
audience and how the public is receives the information.Child sexual abuse has negative
effects on the victims as it negatively destroys child development and well-being.The study
therefore seeks to promote children’s rights and empowering them with knowledge especially
those from marginalised areas.

SCOPE OF STUDY
Chapter 1 : Introduction to research topic, background of the study ,significance of the study
abd statement of the problem

Chapter 2 : literature review and theoretical framework.

Chapter 3 : Research methods and methodology.

Chapter 4 : Political economy of the herald.

Chapter 5 : Data presentation and Analysis.

Chapter 6 : Conclusion

CHAPTER SUMMARY
The research proposal's first section gives a brief overview of the study's introduction and
background of the study. The chapter also highlights the significance of the study and statement
of the problem, research questions are also contained in the introduction, objective of the study
and limitation
You left out the following subtopics
Research approach
Research design
Methods of data collection/data gathering
Methods of data analysis
Methods of data presentation
Sampling techniques
Population
Delimitation
Limitations
Structure of the study
REFFERENCE LIST
Chambers . S and Kopstein.J , (2008) , “Civil society and the state” in Phillips. A,Honig.B. and
Dryzek .J.S (Eds), The Oxford handbook of political theory, pp364-381, Oxford ,Canada

Hallahan, K. (1999). Seven Models of Framing: Implications for Public Relations. Journal Of

Public Relations Research, 11 (3), 205-242.
Judge .M, (2018), Blackwashing homophobia ; Violence and the politics of sexuality , gender
and race , London , Routledge ,Taylor& Francis.

Lupande. F , 2022, Shock, Outrage as another girl (9) is raped and impreginated , Herald ,17 Nov
9 (accessed 25 Jan 2023), Available from https://www.herald.co.zw/breaking-news-another-9-
year-old-girl-raped-pregnant-as-two-17-year-old-boys-are-arrested/
Muridzo.N.G, (2014). Child sexual abuse in Zimbabwe;An agenda for social work in the Indian
Journal of social work.75 (1) 49-68
Nemukuyu .D. and Mupanedemo.F ,(2021) ,Murder charges for Marange girl’s husband ,Herald
, 21 Aug , accessed 30 jan 2023 , available fromhttps://www.herald.co.zw/murder-charge-for-
marange-girls-husband/
Zhakata. I. (2021) ,Government intensify child protection in communities , Herald ,accesed 28
jan 2023 ,available from https://www.herald.co.zw/govt-intensifies-child-protection-in-
communities/
Zinyuke R ,(2022) , 16 days of activism, lets amplifycall against child sexual abuse , Herald ,
accessed 1 Feb 2023 , available fromhttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.herald.co.zw/16-days-
of-activism-lets-amplify-call-against-child-sexual-abuse/amp/