Sinokubonga Nkala
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, sukulwenkosi.dube@chronicle.co.zw
THE Gwanda Town community recently joined the rest of the world in taking a stand against gender-based violence (GBV) with authorities calling for behaviour change among perpetrators.
Stakeholders from the town held district commemorations for 16 Days of Activism Against GBV at Redcross Business Centre.
The event was organised by the Gwanda Municipality in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and other developmental partners. The event was preceded by a clean up and tree planting exercise.
This year’s commemorations were held under the theme, “Towards 30 years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls”.
Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Senator Monica Mutsvangwa officially launched this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign on November 26 at Mawabeni Business Centre where she reiterated Government’s commitment in the fight against GBV.
The 16 Days of Activism against GBV are an international campaign which is observed by many countries in the world, Zimbabwe included. The campaign starts on November 25 and ends on December 10, which is the International Human Rights Day. This symbolically links violence against women and human rights. The campaign originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute and was sponsored by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership in the USA in 1991. The campaign is held annually.
Addressing the crowd at the Gwanda commemorations, administration officer in the office of the District Development Coordinator, Mr Awakhiwe Moyo said there is a need to enhance stakeholder collaboration to prevent and respond to GBV.
“The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence hold significant importance in our calendar of events, as they serve to call for action for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. It also seeks to raise awareness on the impact of GBV and mobilising action to end violence against women and girls, men and boys.
“We need to enhance stakeholder collaboration to prevent and respond to GBV. Despite the progress made over the past three decades in the fight against GBV, we continue to witness alarming rates of gender-based violence. I implore all stakeholders to take positive steps to create communities where violence is not tolerated, and where every individual is treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
Mr Moyo urged stakeholders in the district to strengthen multi-sectoral response to GBV and ensure access to comprehensive GBV support services such as health care, legal assistance, and counselling services.
He said there is a need for programmes that empower survivors to stand against violence and strengthening of male engagement.
“Let me also hasten to say that our emphasis on male engagement does not mean that only men are the perpetrators of GBV. We have also noted with concern a troubling increase in gender-based violence perpetrated by women against men. It is essential to emphasise that GBV is unacceptable in all its forms, regardless of who the perpetrator may be. Violence against any individual, irrespective of gender, undermines the very fabric of our society and perpetuates a cycle of harm,” he said.
Gwanda Ward 7 Councillor Thembani Mathuthu said men are victims of GBV but the unfortunate part is that they are suffering in silence. He said there are many platforms which have been created to cater for men. He said men are victims of physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse among other forms of abuse.
Clr Mathuthu said men have to be empowered and educated in order to be able to identify these acts of abuse so that they can report them and get the necessary assistance.
Superintendent Rosemary Dube, who is in charge of crime and operations in Gwanda said as police, they remain committed to fighting gender based violence. She said various structures have been put in place to guard against gender based violence such as the victim friendly unit and the women network whose key result area is combating gender-based violence cases.
“As police, we join other departments and stakeholders in the 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. We have a number of programmes that we roll out during the campaign such as awareness campaigns. As police, we say GBV has no space in our community and country hence we say ‘no to gender based violence.’ We therefore call on the community to partner us in this fight against GBV.
“Acts of GBV have an effect on youngsters as some engage in drug and substance abuse as a strategy to cope and escape the abuse that they will be witnessing at home. GBV can have severe mental consequences on children. Let’s not suffer in silence because for this fight to be successful, there is need for involvement of every member of the community,” she said.
Gwanda North Junior Member of Parliament, Mr Simon Banda said as youths, they are committed to playing a part in the fight against GBV.
“As youngsters, we have been affected by GBV in our communities. GBV destroys families, communities and the entire nation. These families and communities are the institutions that we turn to for protection and love but they have become harmful. We have seen women and girls being beaten up and raped. We have seen the girl child being forced into early marriages while others are being denied their rights to education,” he said.
The 16 Days Campaign is normally commemorated by groups or individuals worldwide using a human rights framework to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women. It seeks to raise awareness on GBV, strengthen local leaders and communities to speak out against GBV.
It also provides a platform where people can develop and share new effective strategies on reducing GBV.
This year’s theme aligns with the 30th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Additionally, in the same year, 2025, a 10-year milestone will be reached towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This theme is a call to all, be it Government, civil society organisations, community leaders and churches to take positive steps towards realising the aspirations of the declaration and to critically reflect on the efforts made towards eliminating violence against women and girls since the coming into effect of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995.–@DubeMatutu
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