adminParticipants chose the dates 25 November — International Day Against Violence Against Women – and 10 December — International Human Rights Day in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasise that such violence is a violation of human rights.
This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including 29 November, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, 1 December, World Aids Day, and 6 December which marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.
It is of paramount importance to remember that in Zimbabwe the campaign to end gender-based violence has been shifted from 16 days to 365 days so that according to the Sadc gender protocol the overall target is to halve gender-based violence by 2015. The deadline is drawing closer and there is fear whether Sadc countries Zimbabwe included will be able to meet the deadline considering high incidence of gender-based violence taking place daily in the homes and in other communities.
Zimbabwe enacted the Domestic Violence Act in October 2007. While the Act is in place its implementation might be something else both men and women as victims of gender-based violence should take advantage of the Act and report incidents of gender-based violence. At the moment two thirds of countries globally have legislation to stop domestic violence. Unlike before, the issue has risen to the global security agenda.
Despite all these efforts, gender-based violence still remains a global pandemic violating women’s rights (and men’s too) and perpetuating harm in every home country and country. According to UN Women, of great concern is the fact that gender-based violence also extracts a staggering economic toll through billions in lost productivity and higher costs for health and judicial services. These are funds that could otherwise be directed to other developmental programmes in several states.
While there might be laws prohibiting marriage of minors, the table shows that communities continue to infringe on children’s rights thereby destroying their future and inflicting untold suffering and harm on them. This is also an indication that gender-based violence still affects more women and girls than men and boys. It is unfortunate too that what happens within the private domain, particularly within the family and in the home, including the majority of gender-based violence cases have been hidden and beyond the scope of the law.
Accessing justice is something else too. In a chilling incident in 2011 Brazil, Maria da Penha Fernandes was shot by her husband as she slept at her home in May 1983. Having suffered years of debilitating abuse, the mother of three children was left paralysed from the waist down. Two weeks after her return from the hospital her husband tried to electrocute her. The case languished in the criminal justice system for years and the husband remained free for two decades. This might be a representation of other similar cases where victims suffer on end because of weak justice systems across the globe.
In rural areas access to justice might be a challenge due to long distances to police stations and lack of information.
However, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development has made great strides in popularising the Domestic Violence Act and awareness campaign in communities on gender-based violence through the 4Ps campaign — that is, prevention, protection, programmes and participation.
Legislation in terms of gender-based violence must cut across all contexts including the home, work and in the public spaces. It is also important to ensure that no custom, tradition or religious tenet is used to justify gender-based violence. It is also paramount that full and sustained funding be availed to ensure adequate implementation of gender-based violence legislation so that indeed there is peace in the homes and peace in our communities.
In most countries including Zimbabwe navigating the justice chain is complex and tedious and this is the reason why it is characterised by high levels of attrition whereby most cases drop out of the justice system before they reach court. A few cases result in conviction. In most cases, women withdraw cases due to lack of knowledge of their rights or the justice system, dependency on male relatives for assistance and resources and fear of sanctions or stigma in the home and family circles.
In some communities, social norms hinder their ability to exercise autonomy outside the household.
As such grievances including gender-based violence cases are commonly resolved within families or communities. Household surveys in 30 countries show that in 18 countries more than half of married women have no say on everyday household decisions.
As we commemorate this year’s 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender Based Violence let us aim to ensure peace in our homes and in our communities.
l Vaidah Mashangwa is the provincial development officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development
She can be contacted on 0772 111 592/09 889 224
email;[email protected]
Online Reporter