Some women in rural Zimbabwe have become victims of a new form of corruption called s_xtortion when they try to acquire land for cultivation and to build homes.
A victim of the vice, Catherine Mazorodze (37), from Manicaland province, told Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview that she consented to s_xual exploitation out of desperation. She said:
The traditional leader of the area told me I was young and not entitled to allocated land since it was meant to benefit the elderly.
He blatantly said if I wanted a piece of land … I had to have s_x with him. Out of desperation and poverty, I agreed to his terms.
Mazorodze revealed that a significant number of women are victims of s_xtortion but are too embarrassed to speak out.
When contacted for comment, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) spokesperson, commissioner John Makamure said the commission will not rely on hearsay but people should bring evidence for the investigations to be launched.