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Ivan Zhakata and Anesu January
Mental health disorders linked to gender-based violence (GBV) are on the rise, a Government official has said.
Ms Mildred Mapani, deputy director for Strategic Policy Planning in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development said this at a Data to Policy programme that was organised recently by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency
(ZimStat), Vital Strategies, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Data for Health Initiative.
She said there has been an increase in cases of suicide attempts, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse among GBV survivors.
“There is limited capacity to respond strategically to GBV cases. Law enforcement and health professionals play a critical role, but only 1 500 out of 15 000 have received proper training,” Ms Mapani said.
She said only seven out of 118 hospitals in the country provide one-stop GBV services, leaving many survivors without adequate psychological and medical support.
“We need to focus on high-impact interventions, including increasing the number of trained professionals and improving access to GBV services,” Ms Mapani said.
She also raised concerns over societal attitudes, which she said discourage victims—especially men—from seeking help.
“When a man reports that his wife is abusing him, society laughs at him instead of assisting him. This attitude is harmful and prevents victims from speaking out.”
Online Reporter