adminThe Herald, 12 July 2006
WOMEN’S organisations yesterday hailed the Domestic Violence Bill, saying the proposed law would help curb domestic violence, which has resulted in deaths or serious injuries to many people in the country.
Musasa Project director Ms Edna Bhala said the provisions of the Bill were comprehensive enough to deal with domestic violence.
“It is comprehensive enough as it defines domestic violence in a manner that caters for all forms of domestic violence. The effectiveness of the proposed law will depend on its implementation,” she said.
There was need, Ms Bhala said, for the police and judiciary officers to be well versed in domestic violence issues to ensure effective implementation of the proposed legislation.
She welcomed the envisaged setting up of the Anti-Domestic Violence Committee, saying this was crucial for rendering support to victims of domestic violence.
“There are a lot of cases of domestic violence that are going unreported, and we welcome the Bill for making provisions in which anyone can report to the police cases of domestic violence,” Ms Bhala said.
Her sentiments were echoed by Women’s Action Group (WAG) director Ms Ednah Musiiwa, who said the proposed law was long overdue.
“We subscribe to the provisions of the Bill as it provides a framework of dealing with gender-based violence which is on the increase,” she said.
“Women were finding it difficult to get recourse on domestic violence which was treated as a private affair.”
The Zimbabwe Women Lawyers’ Association (ZWLA) has also hailed the Bill, saying it would reinforce the values of the family unit.
The Bill, that was gazetted last week, seeks to widen the scope of domestic violence to include physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, psychological and economic abuse as well as intimidation, harassment and stalking.
It also includes damage to property, entry into complainant’s house without consent where the parties do not share the same residence and depriving the complainant of a reasonable share of the use of facilities associated with his or her place of residence.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Zimbabwe continues to witness an increase in domestic violence cases despite the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act (Chapter 5:16), a law put in place to protect women and men who are abused by their spouses.
Domestic violence takes many forms. It can be verbal, physical, psychological, emotional and sexual. This has led to the needless loss of lives, in some cases.
Since gender-based violence has become more prevalent during this Covid-19 pandemic era, it calls for leadership across the gender divide to come up with lasting solutions to stamp out this evil.
The International Women’s Day theme: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world,” with the hashtag ChooseToChallenge, must come up with ideas and solutions from across the globe that challenge people to act differently and responsibly; people who choose to embrace and not abuse; to have peaceful relations and not resort to violence.
Online Reporter