adminMercy Ngwebvu
From November 24, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day – is the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world. This year, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development in the Manicaland province has plans of creating a documentary that will continuously serve as a reminder that GBV should be fought, even after the 16 days of activism.
Ms Chido Madiwa, the Ministry of women Affairs, Gender and Community Development Manicaland coordinator, said most of the issues that triggered Gender Based Violence are as a result of poverty, adding that more focus should be put on empowering people economically.
“It has been proven that GBV is largely caused by poverty and I feel that more should be done in making sure that households are empowered economically. There is also a largely held misnomer that the 16 days of activism are only about women and girls. This is not so because even men and boys can be victims of GBV though most of them may decide to suffer without speaking out about their situations.
“I also want to remind people in Manicaland and the nation at large that fighting GBV should be an everyday thing. It does not end after the 16 day period because this violence happens without season. We should therefore fight GBV without ceasing, placing more emphasis on it during the November 25 to December 10 period,” she said.
She also emphasised on the need to raise awareness against GBV because Manicaland was the worst affected province in as far as the phenomenon is concerned.
Said Madiwa: “Of all provinces, Manicaland is on top of the list when it comes to issues of Gender Based Violence and this is worrisome. As a province we should make enough noise so that the prevalence of GBV issues can be decreased. We have various stakeholders who are going to be carrying out campaigns throughout the 16 days and I am urging women to embrace this opportunity to make use of the services that are going to be offered by the respective stakeholders.
“I am hopeful that we are going to achieve this goal because this year, the 16 days of activism against GBV have been received with so much hype. Chiefs are currently undergoing capacity building training on how to handle GBV cases in their areas and this shows that people are concerned about the grievous effects of GBV and are ready to fight it as a united force.”
Research has shown that when households are economically empowered, families are healthier, more children go to school and income generally increases. It has also become evident that with economic empowerment of households, cases of GBV tend to decrease.
Confirming this was Cosmas Chineunye who stays in the Federation section of Dangamvura, saying when he lost his job, his wife would incessantly abuse him verbally, adding that things only got better when he decided to become a cross border trader to fend for his family.
Said Chineunye:“When I lost my job some two years ago, I suffered all sorts of mental and verbal abuse from my wife because she would always shout, reminding me of how useless I had become in as far as taking care of the family was concerned. I now depended on her little salary to survive and it affected us badly. Sometimes she would come home very late, because she was now the ‘bread winner’.
“I then decided to act because my marriage was on the brink of collapsing. I borrowed money from my friends and relatives and started a cross border business. It took some time for me to get back on my feet and when I finally did, there has been peace in my home.”
Gender Based Violence has very close links to poverty.
Economic downturns can act as triggers for incidences of GBV. Its impact on health and productivity can in turn lead to increased poverty. It is also sad to note that GBV behaviour can be ‘taught’ by one generation to the next, which in turn can make it more difficult to leave poverty behind. It is therefore critical that any anti-poverty strategies be implemented in a bid to deal with GBV.
The international campaign originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991.
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