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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
GOVERNMENT is leading from the front in the fight against sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), teen pregnancies, child marriages and drug abuse among other social ills while human rights groups have also joined in the fight, which is being spearheaded by First Lady Amai Auxilia Mnangagwa.
Amid the fight, reports of the mentally challenged and those living with disabilities being sexually exploited and abused have been worryingly on the rise lately.
A disturbing story of a man living with disability who was being assaulted by his wife for failure to go to the toilet to relieve himself circulated in the media, spotlighting the otherwise ignored community of the mentally challenged and those living with various disabilities.
Chris Svondo, who is confined to a wheelchair and lost his eyesight two years ago, approached the courts seeking to be protected against his wife, Pamela Ndondo, who is reported to be in the habit of bringing boyfriends to their matrimonial home.
Reports are that Ndondo is currently nursing her boyfriend’s child whilst in their matrimonial home. Kwekwe Magistrate Ms Mildred Mutuvi granted Svondo a protection order against Ndondo and ordered her to desist from abusing her husband.
There are a number of cases also emanating from the periphery of Kwekwe where mentally challenged women are being abused by men.
In one of the cases, a mentally-challenged woman from Ward 2 under Zibagwe Rural District is raising two children conceived from sexual abuse.
According to Ward 2 councillor Rodgers Nhari, men are aware of her condition and that she stays with her elderly mother hence they take advantage and sneak into her bedroom and rape her before disappearing.
“It is true it is happening in my ward, the woman now has two children, the eldest is about five years old and the other is about six months old. We do not know who the fathers of the children are as they take advantage of the cover of darkness to rape her and disappear,” said Cllr Nhari. The woman is also struggling to breastfeed her child due to her condition.
“The woman cannot produce milk for the baby and it is a serious case. Given her condition, she does not know when the baby requires to be fed,” he said.
With the intervention of the councillor, the community has since helped build a two-roomed house for the family.
According to Cllr Nhari, there are two similar cases in his ward.
The other case is that of an under-aged girl who is also mentally challenged who was being raped by her uncle. The uncle fled after the matter came to light.
“We have two similar cases in the ward and we strongly suspect that there are men who are in the habit of prowling on such women in the area. We have taken steps to ensure that we monitor these families as they are vulnerable to abuse,” said Cllr Nhari.
Such cases have been on the increase lately and as the nation continues its fight against SGBV cases, the mentally challenged and those living with disabilities should also be considered in the fight.
There are many cases that are happening behind closed doors with people taking advantage of the mentally challenged and those living with disabilities to abuse them physically, emotionally and sexually.
According to Musasa Project, a women’s rights group, there has been a sharp increase in cases of gender-based violence in general.
Between January and December 2021, its shelter centres assisted more than 62 580 victims of gender-based violence (GBV) up from 40 000 during the same period in 2020.
During the same period, Musasa received 614 cases from people living with disability or with mental illness, a worrying scenario.
The organisation’s spokesperson, Ms Rotina Mafume-Musara said there was need for community engagement through public awareness.
“Women with disabilities are often taken advantage of by abusers in the country. It is important to have comprehensive awareness programmes on mental health as well as targeted interventions for women with disabilities around GBV especially on available centres of SGBV services,” she said.
“An effective response mechanism for mental health awareness is key. Musasa works with women with disabilities providing psychological support, shelter and legal support amongst other things for women with disabilities who would have gone through such situations,” she said.
Marjorie Nhamoinesu of Shamwari YeMwanasikana, another organisation which advocates for the protection of the girl child, said it was worrisome that these cases were still happening in society.
“In the case of those women who are being abused, most probably some community members know who the perpetrators are. There is need for the community to stand together in such circumstances and help weed out those perpetrators who are in the habit of abusing the women,” she said.
Nhamoinesu said whilst the women could be issued with contraceptives to avoid pregnancy, little could be done to protect them from contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
She also emphasised on the need for the abused women and men to get psycho-social assistance.
“Despite that the victims require psycho-social assistance, it is good that the community comes together to report such cases. There is also need for them to be initiated in centres that can protect them,” she said.
Chief Gwesela said he was working hand in hand with police to ensure that the perpetrators were identified and banished from his area.
“We are carrying investigations together with the police. Once the perpetrators are identified, they will surely be banished from the area.
We do not tolerate such heinous acts against the vulnerable who need everyone’s protection,” said Chief Gwesela. – @michaelmagoron1
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