'Enough Is Enough'....Women Unite Against Gender Violence In Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe women march against domestic violence. The women are demanding respect and a stable home environment for all women inside the country., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

‘Enough is enough’. . . Women unite against gender violence

Thursday, 07 March 2013 00:00
Roselyne Sachiti Deputy Features Editor
Zimbabwe Herald

“WE have had enough. We want a concrete solution.” The clear and strong messages by Zimbabwean women who are denouncing all forms of violence against women as nations around the globe commemorate the International Women’s Day tomorrow, March 8.

While each year different issues that affect and celebrate women in both rural and urban areas are brought to the arena, this year’s theme, “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women”, is befitting if cases of violence against women are anything to go by.

Violence against women continues to spiral worldwide making it fit for the UN to for the third time choose a theme that denounces this social ill.

Past similar themes include “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls (2009)” while the 2007 theme was “Ending impunity for violence against women and girls”.

In Zimbabwe, women have faced one or more forms of abuse by abusive husbands, partners, relatives and even their children.

Reported cases of domestic violence in the country have steadily increased since 2008 from 1 940 cases to 10 351 cases last year with projections showing that in 2012 the statistics may surpass 2011 figures since 3 141 cases were reported during the first quarter of this year.

The 2010-2011 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey states that 30 percent of women have experienced physical violence at some point since the age of 15. Of these women, 8 percent experienced physical violence within the past 12 months.

While the country has to some extent made strides in trying to end this societal thorn, women are still “pricked” by those they love most raising the question - what has to happen for violence against women to end. What are the challenges? Who will stand up and look straight in the eyes of perpetrators to say enough is enough? Women want answers.

Women’s Coalition chairperson Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa says it will take time to debunk the myth that violence is a normal part of solving conflicts, particularly in marriage.

“Violence against women remains a challenge because it is based on socialisation and social constructs that condone the behaviour,” she says.

According to Mrs Muwanigwa, civil society is doing something even though there is still room for more work. She adds that the country has indeed done considerable work in ensuring that at least laws, policies outlaw discrimination.

“The draft constitution, if adopted, will further outlaw discrimination of any kind towards women and girls by entrenching gender equality and equity.

“Civil society has complemented Government efforts to ensure women’s empowerment and gender equality although resources in the gender sector are much fewer compared to others. A key aspiration remains that of translating policies into reality for the majority Zimbabwean women,” she said.

Mrs Muwanigwa expressed the need to ensure continuous, concerted and co-ordinated enforcement of the Domestic Violence Act, as this would strengthen the justice delivery system and encourage more victims, male or female to report.

“More awareness raising is still necessary particularly for groups living in remote areas. Relevant institutions such as police, courts, including customary, clinics/hospitals and the family should be targeted for sensitisation on the need to say NO to violence in all its forms,” she revealed.

While some non-governmental organisations like Musasa have gone further to provide shelters for abused women, resources are never adequate to cater for the ballooning numbers of those in need.

Musasa director Mrs Netty Musanhu said the country does not have enough shelters for abused women. She said the few existing so-called shelters are below standard and some not regulated.

Mrs Musanhu pointed out that while the Domestic Violence Act is now active and stipulates the provision of shelters, Government does not run any.

To make matters worse for women, she says, the existing shelters are concentrated in urban areas and the rural women have nowhere to run to.

In the urban areas, explained Mrs Musanhu, women are utilising the existing shelters and non-governmental organisations that are the main providers sometimes cannot cope with the demand.

“The existing shelters are run and sustained by NGOs that depend on donor funding. Sometimes money runs out and we cannot meet needs such as food. We have more women coming in soon after public holidays and weekends. The shelters are supposed to be temporary but sometimes abused women who bring their children end up staying for extended periods,” she explained.

She added that they are working with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development to ensure that the existing shelters meet the basic requirements.

Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Jessie Majome also pointed a finger at social attitudes as the main drawback in the full implementation of the DVA.

She said the law can only work when people actually use it.

“It’s a process to change attitudes, also human behaviour cannot ever be completely changed by the law. Some people will kill, steal, etc despite the law. All the law can do is to hope to discourage some, it can’t eliminate unlawfulness. Also not everyone knows about the DV Act, perpetrators and survivors alike,” she pointed out.

She said it is too soon to tell successes and achievements of the National Gender Based Violence Strategy launched at the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV last year adding that this could only be done after an action plan has been adopted and implemented.

Deputy Minister Majome also said it is difficult to measure success/failures of the 4Ps campaign in the absence of comprehensive data collection systems, which the national strategy resolves to do.

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development launched the 4Ps campaign on zero tolerance on domestic violence at the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender- Based Violence in Bulawayo in November 2011. The 4Ps are prevention, protection, partnerships and programming.

The Zimbabwean Government, she says, has gone far in translating the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination and Violence Against Women (CEDAW) into action, although the country’s failure to present second, third and fourth reports on time and only presenting it with the fifth one in February 2012 is an indictment.

She also said Government is fulfilling promises citing the draft constitution, which will outlaw all forms of discrimination toward women and girls by entrenching gender equality and equity.

She bemoaned the inadequate shelters for abused women.

However, she said, currently women are using the few existing ones run by NGOs and their ministry is in the process of establishing some by converting their training centres partially into shelters.

Domestic violence is not confined to Zimbabwe as world over, even in the developed nations, the challenges are almost similar.

Global advocacy organisation, Women Deliver president Jill Sheffield told The Herald that while there has been important progress made in preventing and responding to violence against women worldwide, there is much more work to do to ensure that all girls and women - everywhere — can live long, healthy lives.

“Violence against women is a difficult issue that results from complex root causes, such as gender inequality and discrimination, and it comes in many forms — from child marriage to gender-based discrimination.

“Families, communities and governments must treat all forms of violence against women as the human rights abuses that they are. If we work together to address these deep societal challenges, we can — and we will — end violence against women once and for all,” she said.

According to Sheffield, the link between violence against women and reproductive health is simple because - when girls and women face discrimination and violence, their family planning choices are often compromised.

These women, she said, may not seek the reproductive health services they need, such as condoms or other contraceptives, due to stigma or the threat of further violence.

But, she pointed out, when girls and women experience equal rights, they are empowered to choose the family planning methods they want – and need — to lead long, healthy and productive lives.

She said globally some countries have made tremendous progress towards implementing the commitments they have made to protect the rights of women through (CEDAW) and other national and international agreements.

“However, we know that is not the case for all 187 countries. It is critical that national, regional and global leaders work together to ensure that all CEDAW laws and policies are properly implemented and that all country leaders are held accountable for delivering on their promises to girls and women,” added Sheffield.

Tragically, many women experience violence during pregnancy.

While there is not much data, there is enough to suggest that in some cases, pregnancy actually increases the likelihood that a woman will endure violence.

It is important to recognise that violence against women data is extremely limited and only represents a fraction of what is actually occurring.

According to Sheffield, a WHO report says in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 7 percent of ever-pregnant women were beaten during at least one pregnancy, of whom 38 percent reported being punched or kicked in the abdomen.

In Namibia, 6 percent of the ever-pregnant women interviewed were beaten during at least one pregnancy. Of these women, 49 percent had been punched or kicked in the abdomen.

For 27 percent of the women beaten during pregnancy, the physical violence started when the woman was pregnant.

The remaining 73 percent were also beaten before pregnancy.

In Ethiopia, of women who had ever been pregnant, 8 percent reported physical violence during at least one pregnancy.

Among women ever abused during pregnancy, 28 percent had been punched or kicked in the abdomen.

In 98 percent of cases of physical violence by a partner during pregnancy, the perpetrator was the father of the child.

Globally, the proportion of ever-pregnant women physically abused during at least one pregnancy exceeded 5 percent in 11 of the 15 settings.

The lowest figure was 1 percent in Japan, and the highest was 28 percent in provincial Peru.

Between a quarter and half of the women who were physically abused during pregnancy were kicked or punched in the abdomen.

In all settings but one, between 11 percent and 44 percent of ever-abused ever-pregnant women reported being assaulted during pregnancy.

While the majority of those beaten during pregnancy had experienced physical violence before, between 13 percent (Ethiopia) and approximately 50 percent (urban Brazil and Serbia and Montenegro) said they were beaten for the first time during pregnancy, according to the WHO multi-country study.

Sheffield said even in developed countries like the US, data on the effectiveness of safe houses in is limited, though they can be critical havens for women in crisis scenarios.
“It is difficult to know whether the same model being used here could be replicated in African society, mostly because there is no “one size fits all” solution to prevention or responding to violence.

“It very much depends on cultural context, prevalence and the type of violence, and the specific needs of survivors,” she said.

Sheffield added that violence against women is a human rights violation — and it is essential to create paths to justice in every city, state and country around the world.

“If we hope to create judicial systems that work, we must work closely with community leaders and advocates to ensure that cultural norms are fully considered — including local practices that may deter women from reporting instances of violence,” she noted.

As women around the world commemorate this important day set aside for them, it is important to keeping standing up firm to end all forms of violence against women.

Feedback: roselyne.sachiti@zimpapers.com , fsachiti@yahoo.com