President of the Senate, Honourable Mabel Chinomona
By George Swarei
One of the major concerns of the world today is the rise of Gender Based Violence.
Statistics of Gender Based Violence (GBV) from the United Nations estimates that one in three women experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime.
In the SADC region, physical violence is said to range from 6 percent to 34.4 percent; sexual violence from 4 percent to 25.5 percent, while emotional violence from 15.9 percent to 36.5 percent.
Zimbabwe is no exception as crime data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), compiled from police records, shows a 74 percent increase in rape cases between 2010 and 2018.
These gory statistics translates to 22 women being raped daily, that is one woman being abused every 75 minutes and an average of 646 women being sexually abused monthly.
Only in 2020, during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdowns, Zimbabwe, just like many countries, recorded a serious rise in cases of Gender Based Violence.
A national Hotline, run by Musasa, recorded more than 6,800 GBV related calls for the period 30 March 2020 until the end of December 2020. Out of these calls, 94% were from women.
In the spirit of commitment to eliminate Gender Based Violence, Zimbabwe on the 25th of November 2022 joined the rest of the world to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence with government, advocacy groups, civic society groups, and private players lining up awareness campaigns to fight GBV and promote safe, legal and peaceful practices.
This year’s campaign launch saw the Parliament of Zimbabwe leading marches in different provinces and dialogue sessions where various stakeholders interfaced to reflect and share notes on how best to tackle the scourge.
President of the Senate of Zimbabwe Honourable Mabel Chinomona who was Guest of Honour at a Dialogue session held at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare delivered a keynote address that touched on many key issues with regards to eliminating gender based violence.
Senator Chinomona said the world can win the war against GBV if collective efforts are directed towards ending GBV. She called all and sundry to play a part in the fight against GBV right from community level.
“I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to play their part and role in ending violence against women and girls.”
“Let us all together, men and women, boys and girls, show support and solidarity to end the scourge of GBV in our communities,” she said.
“It is only through collective efforts of different actors involving both men and women that GBV can be eliminated. While the campaign against GBV should run 24/7, 365 days, this meeting and the 16 days of campaign are very important,” she added.
Senator Chinomona also said the rise of GBV around the world makes this year’s campaign an important one.
“Given the serious rise in gender-based violence around the world, this year’s 16 Days of Activism against GBV is more important than ever before,” said the Senate President.
The Harare Dialogue Session was attended by a highly powered delegation which included representatives from the UNDP, Spotlight Initiative, European Union, Hivos, WILSA, Parliament and the Government of Zimbabwe, students, and other advocacy groups, and Hon Chinomona was thankful for the presence and support to this noble cause.
The session gave various stakeholders an opportunity to speak with Junior Members of Parliament also giving their voices towards elimination of GBV.
The Senate President also called for solidarity with the victims of Gender Based Violence.
“As we gather, to dialogue and rededicate our commitments to end GBV, let us also take this opportunity to express solidarity with victims, strategize and combine efforts towards protecting women and girls from violence,” she added.
While efforts have been put by the government of Zimbabwe as well as other organisations in protecting women and children, and overall eliminating GBV, the country has recorded a worrying trend of child marriages and rape cases.
In 2021 a 14-year-old girl Memory Machaya from rural Marange died while giving birth at a church shrine. The Machaya case brought to the fore the exploitation of young girls which also attracted an outcry from local and international organisations that deal with child rights.
The United nations and the Zimbabwean government at the time strongly condemned the circumstances surrounding the death.
In October 2022, a minor girl in Bikita, Masvingo province died while giving birth at a church shrine while in November 2022 a 9 year-old girl is said to have delivered through cessarian section at United Bulawayo Hospitals after being raped.
An 8-year-old girl from Bindura, who was recorded as the youngest known expecting mother in Zimbabwe got pregnant after being raped.
All these cases have exposed the vulnerability of the girl child in the communities we live hence the loud calls for urgent interjection of this trend.
Senator Chinomona also paid tribute to the Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus for running the provincial campaigns.
“I would to applaud the Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus and its partners for, beginning 2021, engaging in this provincial campaign. This will go a long way in sensitizing communities, leadership at grassroots level, law enforcements, and other agencies to take GBV cases seriously, as we shift attitudes towards zero-tolerances to any form of violence in our communities,” she said.
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. Each year, the 16 Days start on November 25 which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and runs to 10 December which is the Human Rights Day.
In 2008, the United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan, launched the campaign UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women, which runs parallel to the 16 Days of Activism. Every year, the UNiTE Campaign focuses on a specific theme.
This year’s theme is: “Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment to build Women’s Resilience against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide: Connect, Collaborate, Contract!”
