The Sunday News
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
SHE is only 15 and already a mother of a baby nearing two years that she got after being raped by a family member.
The girl from Jambezi in Hwange District, who cannot be named for professional reasons, dropped out of school before writing her Grade Seven examinations in 2019 after she became pregnant following the rape ordeal.
She gave birth in January last year.
The girl is an orphan whose father died a decade ago and remained in the custody of her grandparents.
She would alternate between staying with the grandparents and her sister’s marital home in Victoria Falls.
The rape only came to light after the intervention of a community healthcare worker who suspected she was pregnant.
The girl refused to reveal to the family, police, nurses and others who was responsible for the pregnancy.
A family meeting over the issue resulted in the husband of the girl’s sister, a taxi driver, being implicated. The two were once caught kissing.
Police had arrested the girl’s 76-year-old grandfather as the perpetrator but he was last year found not guilty and acquitted of the charges after the magistrate found no incriminating evidence against him.
The magistrate said it was not clear how the old man was implicated and how the girl’s elder sister’s husband was not arrested after being implicated.
The case became one of the many gender-based violence cases happening in communities and whose outcome renders no justice to the survivors.
Violence against women, girls or boys may be at the hands of a stranger, but in most cases, perpetrators are close relatives like husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, brother and others.
There are a number of other cases with almost similar circumstances that happened in Hwange District where justice was not served.
The absence of safe houses in the district compounds the situation as survivors continue living with the perpetrators during investigations.
A safe house is generally a secret place suitable to hide people from perceived danger.
In the context of GBV, a safe house is a home that provides alternative shelter to a survivor of violence.
The intended purpose of a safe house is to keep the survivor away from any further potential harm from the perpetrator with the aim of supporting them in dealing with the traumatic experience as well as preparation for the legal process.
Lack of safe houses hampers reporting of cases as survivors become victims of their dependence on the perpetrators who are mostly guardians and breadwinners.
In the criminal justice system, an accused is placed in custody or when released on bail, is ordered not to interfere with witnesses, this is the similar intent of a safe house, to reduce interaction and contact between perpetrator and victim, but little attention is given to the victim.
Most of survivors endure abuse because of financial insecurity or have nowhere to go or no support circle, have a disability, are threatened, don’t know their rights or simply because of socio-cultural issues such as patriarchy and religious belief systems.
Safe houses are not only beneficial to the survivors, but also play a key role in raising awareness of GBV in the community, with counselling, legal support and skills support.
They can be both physical or be in the form of other support services designed to empower victims such as counselling, access to medical and legal help, referral services, escorting women to police and courts, educating families and communities, and life-skills building.
Matabeleland North has a single safe house in Bubi District which was built through a partnership between Musasa Project, UNFPA and Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community Development, Small and Medium Enterprises and has a capacity of 15 people.
This is not a permanent place but it’s for victims to have a place to stay while they make a decision.
To capacitate communities to deal with gender-based violence, SafAids in collaboration with Hwange based partner Buwalo Matalikilo Trust (BMT) with support from Sonke Gender Justice implemented a four-year programme called Rights Action Accountability (RAA) whose funding cycle ends this year.
The programme targets Hwange Rural District Council’s Silewu Ward 15 and Matetsi Ward 1, to create community support structures that are active in gender violence prevention.
The programme implementers were also working with various stakeholders such as National Prosecuting Authority, Judiciary Service Commission and the Victim Friendly Unit.
Speaking at a media workshop in Victoria Falls recently, SafAids Zimbabwe senior programmes officer Mr Lloyd Dembure said there has been significant progress over the years in sensitising communities about GBV.
“We are working with community action groups such as Gender Action Teams (GATs), community leaders (traditional and religious) and journalists as part of efforts in preventing gender-based violence in Hwange and the nation at large. We have managed to build capacity of GATs, community leaders and media through the Media4Gender Justice programme to monitor and track cases.
“We are building active community structures in terms of holding Government to account in terms of response and keeping checks on activities that involve abuse in communities. The issue of safe houses is of major concern. We have tried to highlight this,” said Mr Dembure.
He said lack of safe houses leads to high rates of withdrawal of cases.
“This means that survivors are forced to go back to the perpetrators where they face the traumatic experience of living with them. Because they need to survive, they are forced to withdraw cases,” he said.
BMT executive director Mrs Anna Mandizha-Ncube said while there has been an increase in the number of reported cases from the two wards as a result of the RAA programme, the biggest let down was the glaring gap left by lack of safe spaces for survivors.
“From the national statistics, four years ago Matabeleland North and Hwange District in particular had the lowest number of reported GBV cases. What was worrying was that on a daily basis we were witnessing GBV in the extreme and yet at national level they were unable to be accounted for. That affects policy and budgetary formulation. So, we are saying as Matabeleland North, there is a need for the Government to look into why reports are not coming.
“There is no safe house in Hwange District. The province has seven districts and only Bubi has a safe house. These are in two contexts, there is a need for safe houses for minors through the Child Protection Act where the Government is mandated to provide such and for elderly women. In most cases survivors run back to perpetrators who are breadwinners and justice becomes a nullity,” said Mrs Mandizha-Ncube.
She said sometimes stakeholders have used children’s homes and hospitals as safe hide-outs for abused children and women.
She challenged the Government through the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community Development, Small and Medium Enterprises, and development partners to set up safe houses where people could be housed while seeking legal recourse and counselling.
“We need one-stop safe shelters that provide counselling, medical assistance, medical attention and livelihood support so that survivors are able to go on with life when the breadwinner is in incarceration.
“We have a lot of young mothers below the age of 15 who have dropped out of school and that affects livelihoods because they are not gainfully employable thereafter, thereby negating the aspirations of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
“We encourage fiscus to holistically fund spaces and activities that address health and welfare components. Departments that deal with GBV and human rights issues should be well funded to be able to address these issues,” said Mrs Mandizha-Ncube.
She said there were 30 GATs in the two wards since the multi-layered approach programme started in 2018.
Child marriages, teenage pregnancies and school drop-outs are common with 10 girls dropping out of Matetsi Secondary School in 2019.
Causes of GBV and abuse of children and women are varied, ranging from dynamics on religious and traditional norms, patriarchy, poverty and economic dependence on spouses and perpetrators.
BMT recently advocated for termination of pregnancy for a girl (15) who was raped multiple times resulting in her getting pregnant.
The community had concealed the issue until a community member made an anonymous tip-off.
The girl was counselled and successfully helped to terminate with the help of the Ministry of Health and with clearance from the JSC. She continued with school and wrote her Grade Seven examinations last year.
The Government has shown commitment towards addressing GBV issues through laws and policies like the Domestic Violence Act, Child Protection Act, Education Act, Social Protection policy framework, although more needs to be done with regards to budgeting.
Speaking at a pre-budget seminar in Victoria Falls recently, chairperson of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus and Mashonaland West proportional representation legislator Goodluck Kwaramba said the national budget must allocate enough resources for social protection and gender.
Child president Menzimuhle Ncube also said children need protection from the dangers of society. -@ncubeleon
