The Adequacy of the Children's Protection and Adoption Act Chapter 5: 06 in protecting children from abuse in Zimbabwe

The study sought to establish the adequacy of the Children's Protection and Adoption Act Chapter 5: 06 in protecting children from abuse. The representative sample consisted of thirty (30) officials who held positions of managerial in the various government line ministries and non-governmental organizations operating in Harare Metropolitan Province, which could also influence policy formulation and implementation in the various government line ministries and non-governmental organizations that operate in the child sector field. A qualitative research descriptive survey design was employed to guide the methodology. Data was collected using the interview schedule guide. Qualitative data analysis with descriptive statistics was used in the presentation, interpretation and analysis of data. The results showed that the Children's Protection and Adoption Act Chapter 5: 06’s adequacy in protecting children from abuse had almost ninety (90%) percent of the participants in agreement that the Act was a good document on paper but lacked value when it came to the real situation on the ground. Another finding was that there was lack of coordination amongst stakeholders in the child sector as each organization tended to compete with the other in fighting to protect children from abuse. Activities of all stakeholders needed to be well coordinated to avoid issues to do with duplication of roles and competition that tends to dilute the best interest practices for children from abuse. Recommendations made include the allocation of all arresting and prosecution powers to be vested in the Ministry that administers the Act, so as to avoid duplication of roles amongst various stakeholders in protecting children from abuse.