‘We all have a role to play’

Tanaka Mahanya

Mandishona made the call as the world commemorates 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

The annual international campaign, which kicked off last Friday runs until Human Rights Day on December 10.

This year’s campaign runs under the theme “Unite! Activism to end violence against women and girls”.

Speaking at the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence launch in Harare, Mandishona said current reports on GBV are most likely an underestimation of the actual number of cases and magnitude of the problem.

“This year, the commemorations come at a time when Zimbabwe has been increasingly recording worrying cases of sexual exploitation and abuse of girls.

“There is also an increase in intimate partner violence, trafficking and violence against women,” she said.

“Research evidence has shown that in Zimbabwe, about one in four women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.

“The driving forces behind this sad state of affairs are unbalanced power dynamics, gender inequalities, limited resources to adequately respond to GBV and the limited implementation of the law.”