admin
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter
WHEN the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) established its Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) in 1996, the objective was to help in policing crimes of sexual nature committed against women and children.
Almost three decades later, the Unit has been influential in helping the abused who now include males, to tackle physical and sexual abuse which continues to haunt many communities in the country.
Over the years, the VFU has managed to break the culture of silence where survivors would opt not to report cases of abuse for fear of ridicule at the hands of police officers not trained to handle such issues.
Since the establishment of the Unit, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of cases of sexual abuse being reported including those involving men who in the past opted to remain silent.
ZRP, which has 74 district headquarters, 509 police stations, and 92 police posts, has managed to establish VFUs in all its police stations and posts
Chronicle visited the Bulawayo Central Police’s VFU which handles at least 15 sexual and physical abuse cases on daily basis.
The member-in-charge of the Bulawayo Central Police’s VFU, Assistant Inspector Alice Sobantu said they trained officers to help members of the public handle abuse.
She said the department handles all forms of domestic cases from men and women of all ages and offers free counselling to estranged couples and families in Bulawayo.
“The unit was created back in 1996 when it was discovered that survivors of gender-based violence especially sexual abuse, were not comfortable to report in the charge office. We have these units in every police station around the country and they are manned by qualified officers who first undergo training on how to handle cases of abuse,” said Asst Insp Sobantu.
“So when our clients come, they only need to ask for directions to our office, and there is no need for them to explain or summarise the case to officers at the charge office. When they walk into our office, we are usually five, and we all give our client attention and capture details at once so that they don’t keep repeating themselves.”
Asst Insp Sobantu said their office has toys for children who are survivors of sexual abuse.
“We sometimes have children who are brought to the unit and before we can get to details we need to first create a conducive environment such as playing with them so that they become comfortable and free to open up,” she said.
“We sometimes fail and engage our partners in non-governmental organisations such as Musasa, Childline and Contact Family Services to help our clients speak out.”
Asst Insp Sobantu said their greatest challenge lies in some residents often portraying police in a bad light.
“Police are not there to instil fear. The fact that we wear our official uniforms also poses a threat as it creates that serious and formal environment that makes conversations timid,” she said.
Constable Yvonne Kamanga, who has been attached to the VFU for the past nine years, said their office is accessible 24 hours a day.
“We even put our phone numbers on the door in case we are not available due to other official duties. Our numbers can also be used to report anonymous tip-offs where victims are not able to report on their own,” she said.
Constable Tamburai Makopa said they also assist men and people with disabilities.
“All of us are trained in three local main languages, isiNdebele, Shona and English hence clients are free to use whatever language they are comfortable in. We have good working relations with the courts such that we can easily source interpreters for other languages when the need arises,” she said.
“All reported cases are treated with confidentiality and we ensure that they end in the courts for the purposes of justice. In cases where victims prefer to withdraw, we take it up to court since we deal with cases where fines are not applicable.”
Constable Ruvimbo Chakavarika, who is also part of the team, said physical abuse remains the most prevalent crime followed by sexual abuse.
“We deal with a lot of issues and there is barely a time when we are free. We encourage members of the public to pay attention to our awareness programmes and report any social ills,” she said.
Asst Insp Sobantu said for VFU to fulfill its mandate, it requires resources.
“This department can only be manned by trained officials hence even in typing dockets, we have to do it ourselves. Without computers, phones, and a printer we sometimes delay in concluding these cases,” she said.
“We sometimes get tips-off, but end up failing to follow up since we don’t have direct phones to communicate with our clients. We also need help with materials for children to make our office friendlier.” — @thamamoe
Online Reporter