What quickly comes to my mind when l hear the words Gender Based Violence (GBV) is ; rape ,sexual harassment and domestic violence ,but it goes in too deep as mob violence,torture , genital mutilation as a result of harmful customary and traditional practices etc.
Today , GBV still remains a relevant topic that is timeless because it is an issue faced by people all over the world which is inclusive of men ,women, boys and girls. YES! rape can be perpetrated by both men and women on either sexualities. But today my main focus is on violence against women. According to the United Nations Population Fund, 1 in 3 women have been physically and sexually abused in their lifetime. Specifically here in Zimbabwe, about 1 in 3 women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and about 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence since at the age of 15 and it's either by their intimate partners or relatives!! The worst part about GBV is that most cases go unreported due to shame , stigma, cultural practices, lack of justice in previous cases and lack of access to resources and support systems.
GBV worldwide seems triumphant because of gender inequality which disempowers women, girls and other minorities this become voiceless beings.Women play a vital role in sustainable development when they are educated and healthy, their families, communities and countries benefit.Yet GBV undermines and stops women and girls to fully utilize their basic human rights. Another, issue is that most African countries have normalised and trivialised the Rape culture because of societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality. For instance, at some point in Egypt rape treated so casual that a renown lawyer called for women to be taped as a matter of "national duty" on national TV.
GBV comes with long term repercussions , that are dire and painful ; suicide , murder, early child marriages. Not so long ago a 23 year old student at Rhodes University in South Africa committed suicide after she was was raped by another student. Also in Zimbabwe, cases of child marriages once became a serious topic, how some religions do not allow a girl child to attain education and get married as early 12. Sometimes these children are married off to their rapists and they continue to suffer sexual assault the rest of their lives. And as a result of loopholes in our justice system that do not have laws such as marital and spousal rape nothing can be done about it.
Currently, Zimbabwe is yet to deal with the issue concerning women and girls who were sexually assaulted (without protection) and others killed by the soldiers during the violent protests that escalated all over the country after the hiked fuel prices that were announced by the President, which then led to a deadly shutdown. As of date atleast , 22 cases of abuse have been reported, but some are not unreported or may never be reported because of the fear that their dirty laundry will be aired for everyone to see.
A lot can be said concerning this issue of gender based violence ,but it comes back to us , as it takes me and you to work against gender based violence cause an injure to one is an injure to all. Unity is strength , division is weakness.
PS : DON'T LET ONE BAD EGG MAKE YOU FEEL ROTTEN
BREAK THE SILENCE & SPEAK OUT!!!
I am an African child,daughter,sister;
