Amend the Termination of Pregnancy Act: ZHRC

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has urged legislators to review the Termination of Pregnancy Act in a bid to broaden the definition of “unlawful intercourse” to include rape within a marriage.

In a statement, the ZHRC chairperson Elasto Mugwadi said amending the law would safeguard women and girls regardless of age.

“The lawmakers should revisit the Termination of Pregnancy Act to broaden the definition of ‘unlawful intercourse’ in Section 2(1) to include rape within a marriage (marital rape), which currently is explicitly excluded from the definition and to include sexual intercourse with children under the age of 18 years,” Mugwadi said.

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