Zimbabwe commemorates International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this year at the backdrop of higher rape cases judging by the number of cases reported in courts. 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it also marks the beginning of the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence which concludes on the 10 th of December.
This year’s theme for the 16 Days of Activism is “Activism Against Gender Based Violence in the World of Work or Ending Sexual Harassment at the Workplace”. Rape cases are on the increase in Zimbabwe. In 2018 Musasa received 384 cases of rape, at the background of unreported cases which is a case of concern.
“Other national statistics highlight that a woman is raped every hour of the day, this only reflect the reported cases against the backdrop of possibly many more cases that go unreported. There is lack of service provision. Poor service provision ultimately translates to many survivors of such heinous crimes as rape failing to timeously access the services they need to mitigate their trauma and begin the healing process. Some of the drivers force survivors into silence include inadequate supportive legal environment which can help survivors to access justice”, reported Musasa.
Also there has been the continued existence of retrogressive social norms that seem to favor perpetrators and promote a culture of silence. It is time to make public the private suffering of survivors and punish perpetrators and enforce deterrent laws against sexual violence especially rape.
