November 25th, 2019 marked the beginning of 16 days of Activism against Gender- Based Violence (GBV), which was launched in the capital, Harare by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium, Enterprises Development yesterday.
The campaign is internationally recognized.
In a press statement, the Minister of Women Affairs, Community , Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Sithembiso Nyoni said Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating 16 days of Activism against GBV, running under the theme; “Prevention, Protection, Participation and Services :End Gender Based Violence.”
“As government we vow to raise awareness about gender based violence as a human rights issue at local, national , regional and international levels. We want to raise awareness on national response programmes to addressees GBV,” Nyoni said.
“We want to provide a forum for stakeholders working on GBV issues to reflect, dialogue and share effective strategies to address GBV. We also want to strengthen local work around GBV prevention and services provision for GBV survivors,” added Nyoni.
Women in Zimbabwe are experiencing GBV which has adversely affected their well being as well as productivity in their homes, communities, and places of work.
“This problem is mainly due to existing negative social norms within our society and detestable cultural beliefs which suppress women and leaves them to suffer in silence. These inhumane acts have continued to prevent women from achieving their maximum potential and compromise their physical and psychological integrity,” Nyoni said.
According to the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) carried out in 2015, it states that, on physical violence, one third (35 percent) of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence. Women with more than secondary education and those from the wealthiest households are least likely to report having recently experienced physical violence. This is a strong pointer to the effective strategies to eliminate the scourge through financial inclusion.
