Online Reporter
Muchaneta Chimuka
THE Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe in collaboration with the Government and civil society organisation recently hosted a high-level consultative dialogue on access to justice for survivors of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) in Harare.
The thrust of the dialogue was to educate communities on the effects of cyber-crimes.
The event was held under the theme: “Advancing Gender Justice in Zimbabwe: Addressing Barriers in the Digital Age.”
The chief director in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Mrs Lillian Matsika Takaendisa, said the programme was part of 16 days of activism against gender based violence through the high-level consultative dialogue.
“This year’s commemorations have been very significant in that they have come at a time when the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, one of the most progressive international agreements on women’s rights to date,” she said. “Following the Beijing+30 review processes, the UN has come up with the Beijing+30 Action Agenda, an action-oriented approach to drive the implementation of existing commitments under the Beijing platform, the 2030 Agenda, particularly SDG 5, and the pact for the future.”
She said, this year’s campaign is anchored on the Beijing +30 Action Agenda with a specific focus on the digital revolution and zero violence action commitments/pillars.
She said the discussions were timely and relevant to the period, as they consider the influence of digital platforms as key enablers for amplifying women’s voices and for access to information.
Mrs Takaendisa said, the internet, social media, mobile platforms and other digital tools have immense power to expand access to information, services, livelihoods, and civic space for women and girls, but also create new opportunities for harm through online harassment, image-based abuse, cyberstalking, doxing, deepfakes, and platform-enabled discrimination.
“These negative effects can further exacerbate existing offline inequalities and hamper women’s rights, agency and safety,” she said.
“It is disheartening to realise that oftentimes online violence is targeted at the most promising women and girls who include college students, women in business, women in politics and the media and women role models.
“These women are forced to be silent or to totally go offline, which impedes our efforts towards women’s empowerment.”
She said, it was worrying that access to justice for these crimes is not easy and many women and girls were failing to report cases of digital violence due lack of knowledge on reporting processes, inadequate implementation of laws and policies, cultural norms that further victimise the victim and the culture of silence on GBV issues.
She applauded commitments by President Mnangagwa by signing into law several pieces of legislation that ensure that perpetrators of GBV are held to account for their actions.
“These includes the Cyber and Data Protection Act, which provides for the criminalisation of online offences and the protection of personal data,” she said.
“As we celebrate this progressive piece of legislation, we also should analyse its implementation and how it is benefiting the women and girls in this country.
“This will equip us to lobby for the enactment of other laws and policies that will comprehensively address issues of TFGBV.”
Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe chairperson, Mrs Muchanyara Mukamuri, said they aim to ensure that survivors can navigate the complexities of seeking justice for TFGBV.
“We have been actively working to strengthen the referral pathway by developing a GBV Toolkit,” she said.
“This tool is designed to support the effective linking of survivors to the necessary legal, psycho-social, and medical services, making the journey to justice more accessible and survivor-centred.”
She said, the Constitution of Zimbabwe lays a strong foundation for gender equality, yet the lived reality for many women and girls is a constant negotiation against entrenched structural and cultural barriers.
“The rapid digitalisation of our society has unfortunately brought with it an alarming surge in TFGBV, or digital violence, which exploits existing gaps in our justice delivery system,” she said.
“This initiative is directly aligned with the key themes of the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), specifically the priority theme of ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers.”
Zimbabwe Gender Commission chief executive officer, Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa, said online violence hampers national development, hence there was a need for urgent action to curb the surge.
“Some people have lost their jobs, tenders, wealth and others are even struggling with mental health due to online violence,” she said.
“Perpetrators of violence should be punished severely and we want the police to be trained and be equipped with the requisite tools of investigating such kind of matters.”
Mrs Arelone Ndlovu from the Zimbabwe Republic Police Forensic Science Directorate under cyber laboratory, said there wasa need for collective action to ensure that no women and girls are not left behind in the pursuit of justice.
“We are now living in the digital age where almost everyone owns an electronic communication device like cell phones, laptops, computers and instead of using them for good reasons that bring development, we found out that the majority are using them to commit crimes.”
