Silent victims of gender based violence

Mateline Tsama

Victims are accused of having cased their own misfortune, the very core of their humanity violated and Zimbabwe’s highly conservative family system means majority of cases are literally swept under the carpet.

The reason, if one reports it, the result will be a breakdown of the family unit so vital to the very fabric of our society.

Despite the outrage at violence against women that has been recorded in Zimbabwe over the years, thousands of women continue to be silent victims of one kind or another of abuse but the biggest of them is rape, from marital to the abuse of children as young as two weeks in the vain hope of curing the dread HIV/AIDS scourge.

After years of decline suddenly official figures show a spike in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections a worrying sign to authorities.

Women bear the brunt of abuse while vulnerable girls are left with physical and emotional wounds, invisible to the eye; they suffer in silence. For a long time now, Natasha Moyo, 31 and a mother of three has been subjected to unspeakable trauma in her own matrimonial home.

Her life and that of her children is under threat from her violent husband who arrives home late from a beer jaunt.

On a daily basis Moyo prepares herself to walks three kilometres to the safety of her brother’s house if she fails to prepare the day’s evening meal in the way her husband desires. Failure means a heavy bashing.

 This is despite the fact that the husband does not buy food in the house.

“He always beats me up when he comes home to an uncooked meal. What worries me is that if he finds boiled vegetables, he hits me and demands meat that he rarely buys,” Moyo says with a suggestion that she is to blame.

The couple’s landlord who has witnessed Moyo’s fate says her efforts to help Moyo have been futile owing to her relatives’ inconsistence that they cannot report their son-in-law to the police.

Moyo cites that her husband is the breadwinner and that she currently does not have money to enable her provide for the welfare of her children after living the father to the children.

With the 16 days of Activism against gender- based violence now underway, Moyo’s case is not an isolated as many women have chosen to protect their husbands from going behind prison bars despite enduring various forms of domestic violence.

The campaign seeks to mobilise individuals and groups across the globe to call for an end to all forms of violence against women and to emphasize that violence against women is violation of human rights. In marking the 16 days of Activism Against gender-based violence, critics have claimed the idea of blaming the victim for their misfortune is so prevalent something needs to be done.

HarareWest legislator and MDC-T shadow minister of Justice Jessie Majome said government needs to act and stop working on blueprints.

“Government and stakeholders need to move from boardrooms and start implementing the National Strategy against Gender Based Violence launched at last year's 16 days. Its four (4) key result areas are service provision to survivors, protection, research and monitoring and evaluation, accompanied by vigorous advocacy and sensitisation on it that also aims at ending impunity for perpetrators,” Majome said.

Tinopona Mabvunde, 28 a resident of Harare says it has become common for crimes against humanity to be blamed on the victims pointing that women are often times presented as the cause of their own doing.

“In many rape cases, rape survivors are blamed ruthless for the violence perpetrated against them, its time people stop justifying violence by blaming women, we demand justice,” Mabvunde said

Nyari Mashayamombe a gild child activist has advocated that no excuses can be used to justify violence against women and children.

“Nobody deserves to be abused and there is no justification for abuse, it is a crime that should meet the heavy hand of law and justice.”

According to UN women Africa, violence against women has reached a crisis point that demands action from everyone.

With world leaders showing determination and mount response that is proportionate to the violence threatening the lives of women and girls.

“Leaders have a responsibility to take action to end all forms of violence against women and girls.

“With determined leadership for prevention, protection, prosecution and provision of services for survivors, we can end this global pandemic. It is up to all of us. Together we can end violence against women and girls.” - UN women Africa said in a statement.

While people quarrel in the media and in other forums the silent victims of violence continue to wallow in their misery. The 16 day of activism against gender based violence will come and go, there were there last year and after another you another round of noise will come.

Unless authorities begin to act of their promises and meting deterrent sentences to perpetrators then we are unlikely to see any shift in behaviour. Meanwhile Moyo and others like her will continue to suffer in muted criers for help.