Bowmen without arrows . . .

watched and sometimes tried to restrain their fuming father.
Mary Mudondo (not real name), a fruit vendor near Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga, was a regular visitor to the police – not to sell merchandise, but to report her abusive husband.
But, whenever her husband was arrested, relatives would plead with Mary to withdraw the case resulting in her failure to obtain a protection order.
Her husband, a casual worker at a nearby farm, bragged about how he would escape the long arm of the law as he drank beer with his friends watching Mary sell apples, and possibly calculating her day’s earnings.

“He counts how many packets I sell and demand all the money. Baba Sharon beats me while our children watch each time I do not comply with his demands.
“I have made several reports to the police, but our relatives always ask me to withdraw the case stressing the importance of saving my marriage,” she said.

She only hopes the beatings will end soon since getting her husband prosecuted is difficult.
Mary is not alone in this predicament.

Thousands of women and men continue to protect their abusive partners citing customary considerations, four years after the Domestic Violence Bill became an Act of Parliament in 2007.
The Domestic Violence Act (2007) provides for the protection of survivors of domestic violence and criminalises such acts as abuse derived from any cultural or customary rites or practices that discriminate or degrade women.

The surge in cases of like nature with Mary’s, economic and social issues, inadequate training and manpower of both police, social workers, magistrates and the unavailability of adequate stationary, has been worrying the Anti-Domestic Violence Council.
Stakeholders who make up the Anti-Domestic Violence Council last week met in Nyanga for a planning workshop aimed at deliberating on the challenges they face in execution of their tasks.

The council comprises representatives from the judiciary, religious sectors, women and men’s pressure groups and children’s rights activists among others and receives support from the United Nations Population Fund.
Sadly, chiefs are not represented in the council.

The non-representation of traditional leaders in the council to provide their expertise in dealing with domestic violence cases has been a thorn in the flesh for the council.
The Anti-Domestic Violence Council was launched in 2009 to spearhead the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act.
Chief among the challenges faced is the increase in domestic violence cases, according to chairman of the Anti Domestic Violence Council, Bishop Trevor Manhanga.

For instance, 2 536 cases have been recorded during the first quarter of this year, compared to 1 940 which were reported the whole of 2008.
“From Press reports, it looks like there is an increase in cases of DV. Because of awareness, people are coming up and as a council we are concerned by the increase,” he said.
Bishop Manhanga says stationery remains a problem as it is sometimes not available for the victims.

“For example, if someone wants to get a protection order, they have to process some papers and this becomes a problem because some victims of DV do not have money. We still have challenges to make the process user friendly for victims,” he said.
Bishop Manhanga said since implementation of the DVA, they have seen changes within the police Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) as victims are being privately assisted.

“At least women are able to take up protection though this might not be where we want,” he added.
He said most people do not know what to do if faced with DV.
Bishop Manhanga added that representation of chiefs in the council is vital if the problem of DV as a result of customary rites and practices is to be well managed.

“The chiefs will provide wisdom when it comes to the issue of customary rites and practices. This issue is a problem and we cannot run away from including the chiefs in the council,” he explained.
Chief Magistrate Mrs Hlekani Mwayera said from the court’s perspective, the implementation of the DVA has been littered with challenges making it difficult for anyone to say it has been a success story.
She said most litigants have opted for protection orders instead of having abusers prosecuted.

“From the inception of the Domestic Violence Act, a lot of litigants have been coming to court seeking remedy in terms of the Act,” she revealed.
Mrs Mwayera added that opportunities have presented to the general populace in that all courts have personnel assigned to deal specifically with domestic violence matters.
She also said all the courts had received litigants seeking redress under the Act.

“Statistics reveal that urban centres receive more matters than the district centres. Courts have given civil and criminal sanctions in respect to domestic violence matters. There is lack of knowledge in outlying areas and training of court personnel is inadequate,” she added.
Mrs Mwayera revealed that where training has been done, staff turnover has negatively affected the depth of capacity building since new recruits also need training.

She said another problem arises from the bulkiness of forms and the required details on filling them in as most litigants are illiterate.
“The non availability of the forms and the general stationery remains a major challenge,” she noted.
The chief magistrate said the US$5 administrative fee is beyond reach of the general populace.

“There is no ideal office accommodation to the extent that the clerks of court are forced to carry out interviews in public. This is not conducive and is repulsive to victims of domestic violence as they may fail to open up during the interview rendering it unhelpful,” he complained.
She also said magistrates and clerks of court have had to assume the role of counsellors when a victim of domestic violence for example breaks down during court proceedings.

“Our magistrates and clerks have not received the requisite training and sometimes end up counselling couples three times their age,” she added.
Mrs Mwayera also said while the DVA provides for domestic violence cases to be dealt with even after hours, arrangements have not been made to ensure that these matters can be dispensed with after hours since its inception.

She said issues of security, mobility and feasibility have not been tackled.
Mrs Mwayera said chiefs and headmen play a judicial function and would assist rural folk, but lack of knowledge on their part and the rural folk has made it impossible for protection orders to be obtained from these courts.

However, she noted that the response by society to the DVA has been overwhelming as reflected by the statistics showing an increase in number of litigants.
She said all the challenges alluded to can be redressed by active participation of each and every stakeholder.
“We have responded positively by bringing the courts to the people and treating the matters with urgency since they are sensitive and the high clearance rate confirms this,” she added.

She noted that equally relevant stakeholders can agitate for non payment of fees through legislative enactment, revising the law, redrafting simplified forms and providing financial assistance for training among many others.

According to Mrs Mwayera, failure to redress the challenges naturally amounts to perpetuation of domestic violence.
Speaking on what the police victim friendly unit has done since coming into effect, Assistant Commissioner Isabella Sergio said there had been a remarkable increase in reported domestic violence cases.

“The manner in which reported cases are handled by the police and disposed of by the courts differs from one police station to another and also from one court to another,” she said.
Assistant Commissioner Sergio said in order to be effective, they aspire for a situation where they have standardised procedure countrywide in handling victims.

Asst Com Sergio also revealed that 1940 cases were reported in 2008, increasing to 3193 in 2009, then skyrocketing to 7628 in 2010.
Between January and March this year, 2536 cases have already been reported to police a high number compared to that of last year during the same period.

She noted that women are becoming increasingly aware of the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act and are approaching police for assistance.
The majority of cases brought to the attention of police are those of physical violence.

“The majority of the perpetrators are men thus both the ordinary and the affluent. Very few men come forward to report,” she said.
Sadly, about half of recorded murder cases are a result of domestic violence.

Asst comm. Sergio said there are no proper referral structures in place, some of their partners refer clients just to get rid of them.
“This results in victims moving from one service provider to another , minus the needed intervention.

“There have been negative attitudes by some officials in criminal justice system. If courts could become more efficient to avoid withdrawals,” she said.
She revealed that the major causes of domestic violence include infidelity by partners and or engaging in extra marital affairs.

Poverty – in this case the failure by breadwinners to sustain their families has also resulted in domestic violence.
“Undue interference by in-laws or other family members, drug or alcohol abuse have also caused DV,” said.

She explained that technology has contributed in fuelling DV through cell phones and e-mails.
The failure by some spouses to contribute in the running of the family have also resulted in DV cases.

Nagging people who want to compare themselves with their neighbours’ lifestyles also end up trapped in domestic violence, according to Ass Comm Sergio.
She added that economic dependency on men, shortages of both human and material resources are some of the many challenges they meet.

“Lack of counselling skills by most of our personnel, staff turnover, lack of ideal office accommodation, payment of medical bills by victims and the withdrawal of cases is another challenge we face.
“Economic dependency on men results in withdrawals of charges especially in cases where the accused is the breadwinner,” she said.

Asst Comm Sergio revealed that lack of proper referral systems, non availability of shelter, shortages of counsellors, non availability of witness fees and bus warrants also hindered the process.
She said sentences passed varied from one court to another and they seem not to be deterrent enough.
“Dilapidated witness quarters and the non availability of 24/7 service due to shortage of manpower also obstruct the process,” she said.
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