admin
The abusive husbands are aware of their victims’ predicament hence they continue the abuse with impunity. It is some of these women who have accepted to live in abusive relationships who end up being killed by their abusive husbands. An increasing number of these women are accused of infidelity. It seems the Zimbabwean society no longer respects sanctity. This is largely why cases of domestic violence are on the increase.
The culture of violence has reached unprecedented levels and there is therefore urgent need to address the problem. People are losing lives over petty issues because people are resorting to violence as a way of resolving disputes. The increasing cases of domestic violence is worrying and a solution should be found soon before the country loses more lives.
Two weeks ago, police recorded seven deaths from 149 cases of domestic violence recorded in just one week countrywide. The figures are frightening yet they exclude many more cases that are not reported because victims fear the abusers will be jailed. Men are reported to be the major culprits of domestic violence.
In the 149 cases of domestic violence recorded two weeks ago, 143 cases were allegedly committed by men with women accounting for just six cases. We need to remind Zimbabweans that no individual has a right to take away life no matter what wrong is committed against them. The Zimbabwean Government in a bid to address the problem of domestic violence, in 2007 enacted the Domestic Violence Act. This piece of legislation will however serve no purpose as long as victims of domestic violence do not report the abuse to the police.
We have already stated that most women are reluctant to report their abusive husbands and even children of abusive parents are reluctant to report them for fear of reprisal. There are also men who are reluctant to report their abusive wives to the police. These men do not fear losing breadwinners as is the case with the majority of women but they do not want to be embarrassed.
The Domestic Violence Act has therefore failed to adequately address the challenge of increasing cases of domestic violence because of the many factors we have already pointed out. The challenge to Zimbabweans is therefore to find a solution to this growing culture of violence. The community leaders who include traditional leaders such as chiefs, the church, the political leadership, women’s groups and other such organisations should unite to preach against violence. We need a tolerant society that appreciates the importance of institutions such as the chief’s court, the magistrate’s court, the High Court and the Supreme Court in addressing issues of redress.
Those that have been wronged should not take the law into their hands and attempt to mete out punishment because that is not their responsibility. We want to once again implore Zimbabweans to refrain from engaging in violence as a way of resolving disputes.
Online Reporter