Tinaani Nyabereka
Women across the Midlands Province have called upon government to provide a social protection fund for victims of Gender Based Violence.
The call comes as most women, particularly mothers struggle to sustain their families when the perpetrators are arrested leaving them as sole breadwinners.
Speaking during the annual commemorations of 16 Days Against Gender Based Violence (GBV) on November in Mkoba, Director for Ebeneezar Women Social Entrepreneurship Trust (EWSET), Florence Guzha said it is sad to note how women are still going in silence on cases of abuse.
“It is good to be in a season where women stand up to advocate for their issues. If you see a bitter woman, it is usually because of men’s actions. If a woman report an act of violence to the police, she wants justice to prevail.
“The problem we still have is, most victims tend to withdraw charges fearing that the husband will be locked away considering that in most cases he is the breadwinner at the same time he is the perpetrator of violence.
“As women, we lobby the government to assist women with a social protection cover to ensure that they sustain their families in the event that the breadwinner has been arrested. As soon as the courts charge the GBV perpetrator, women should automatically be eligible for that fund.,” she added.
Musasa Project representative, Agnes Muuya said the issue of inequality was fuelling gender-based violence in communities.
She added that as Musasa, they were available to assist victims of GBV through various services.
“Inequalities between men and women is still the major cause of gender-based violence considering that there is no level play field for everyone. This is the reason why violence is still prevalent among women.
“Anyone can be a victim of abuse including men. We strongly advise cases of gender-based violence be reported in time. As Musasa, we offer quiet a number of services to victims of abuse. These include counselling, temporary shelters and health aid in case our victim has nowhere to go until the issue has been dealt with,” she added.
Legal expert, Mufaro Jonasi said it was important for women to be sensitised on how the law works as they are mostly caught unknowingly.
“It is important to talk about the law because some laws and acts which then go to affect you as women looking at GBV. Looking at the bill in a layman’s term, it now calls for civil partnerships where in section 5 it recognises the existence of civil partnerships.
“The bill also goes on to stipulate that both partners in the civil union are equal and have same rights and obligations even looking at the issue of sharing assets,” he added.
Youth Essence Programmes Officer, Tendai Ncube however said the bill requires further interrogation.
“Looking on issue to do with gender based violence and abuse, I feel there is need for us to interrogate the bill objectively as it has both positives and negatives towards the welfare of women.
“In as much we feel bill is serving the interest of those who crafted it or in other way maybe promoting acts of immorality, there are some sections which have come to address our issues as women.
There is need for us to go through, understand and then pick along issues that the bill is addressing. Issues to do with violence and divorce, I feel the bill is addressing quiet a number of issues. Women have suffered enough without the law on their side, we need to give our inputs when the bill comes for consultations,” she added.
The commemorations were held under the theme: ‘End Violence Against Women Now’.
