BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
A Victoria Falls based youth organisation has urged the government to pay attention to rising cases of violence against women and girls in Matabeleland North’s Hwange district, which it says have been on the rise since the advent of Covid-19.
Youth Invest (YI) made the call on Thursday as the world marked the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) running from November 25 to December 10.
“Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, violence against women and girls was among the most prevalent violations in the country, including in Hwange district,” YI said in a statement.
“The public health Covid-19 prevention and containment measures introduced by the government saw men and women spending more time at home due to closure of tourism businesses and this led to an upsurge of physical, economic and emotional violence against women and girls – the shadow pandemic
“In Hwange District, the shadow pandemic has been manifesting itself through girl-child neglect, physical and sexual assault. The cases have been fluctuating between 40% and 80%”.
According to a recent YI random research conducted among women, rights violations such as physical, sexual and verbal abuse as well as economic deprivation are prevalent in the district.
On a data scale of 0 to 10, the research highlighted that there was an average of four cases of neglect, eight cases of assault, nine cases of rape and nine cases of physical abuse that were reported by the participants at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
YI said women and girls were usually disproportionately affected during humanitarian situations, hence the need to prioritise the rights and needs of women and girls in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“YI, therefore, urges the government of Zimbabwe to invest in pandemic preparedness through providing clear socio-economic support for women and families in Victoria Falls and Hwange,” the organisation said.
“Such an economic litigation measure will see poverty reduction, improved maternal and child outcomes, as well as, reduction of intimate partner violence”.
YI also called on the government to respect its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which provide for the protection of women and girls.
The organisation stressed the importance of supporting survivors of GBV in their recovery and the full attainment of their rights as espoused in the country’s constitution.
“As we work towards investing in pandemic preparedness, there is a need for the government of Zimbabwe to employ a multi-stakeholder approach to address the underlying drivers of violence- harmful norms and practices cannot be understated,” it said.
“A gender-sensitive approach in emergency preparedness is crucial in ensuring that no one is left behind in combating GBV and the spread of Covid-19.”