Call for more safe shelters in Bulawayo

This came to light during a workshop organised by Musasa last Friday where representatives from the ministry, courts, the city council, Zimbabwe Republic Police, media and civil society discussed how they could best handle GBV cases.

Bulawayo provincial gender officer Mr Tapiwa Sikwila said the absence of safe shelters forced women to suffer GBV in silence.

“We have many challenges and one of them is that we are failing to build shelters for women. The shelters are necessary in that they accommodate GBV victims who in many instances have to separate from their abusers to save their lives,” said Mr Sikwila.

He said the only available shelter did not even belong to the ministry, but was run by a non-governmental organisation.

“If we fail to accommodate those affected by GBV away from the perpetrators then reducing GBV would be impossible. Some women usually withdraw their cases because they fear losing accommodation and they would rather endure abuse in their homes because they have nowhere to go,” said Mr Sikwila.

“As we move towards empowering women and eradicating GBV, we should also strive to promote economic independence among women. We usually receive seven to 10 reports of GBV per month and women usually withdraw them in fear of losing shelter and money,” he said.

A woman from Nkulumane who preferred anonymity said members of the police and the media were GBV perpetrators.

“The police should change their attitudes and stop perpetrating GBV. They have often mistreated women who intend to report rape, sexual harassment and they do not realise that they actually encourage GBV in so doing.

“I like to plead with the media to consider reporting positively on women because it has been sensationalising everything where a woman is involved. The media should be only a tool of empowering women through information dissemination,” said the woman.

Recent reports showed that up to 80 percent of gender-based violence cases are withdrawn from the police as victims fear losing economic gains from their abusive spouses.

According to findings by Musasa Project in 2011, women in Bulawayo reportedly suffer from gender-based violence in silence, as they are economically dependant on their spouses who abuse them.