Gender based violence conference on the cards
For this year’s Internationally recognised 16 days of activism against gender based violence, Musasa project, a non-governmental organisation dealing with women issues, will organise a Gender Based Violence (GBV) fair and conference aimed at educating and informing people on the various forms of gender based violence.
The fair is expected to bring together various Non-Governmental Organisations that deal with gender issues as well as various government departments who are into gender mainstreaming initiatives and policies that affect women in their daily lives.
Some of the highlights for the event will be testimonies from 20 survivors of domestic violence who will be sharing their experiences with the public.
Despite the existence the domestic violence act (2007) which provides for a strong normative frame work of preventing violence against women, practices such as forced virginity testing, harmful cultural are still being practiced in some parts of the country.
The police’s victim friendly court unit will take the chance to its operations with the public.
Reports say police officers were derailing efforts by gender activists to eradicate gender based violence as most of them lack skills required in investigate such cases. As a result a lot of the affected women end up withdrawing their cases.
According to Musasa project law has exposes women leading to a reduced number of victims visiting the police for assistance.
The conference is also expected to address gaps in the implantation of the Domestic Violence Act.
The enactment of this law was amidst a lot of celebration as a milestone for women in Zimbabwe but its implantation has since revealed numerous challenges. Among other things the law provides for the setting up of safe houses across the country where survivors of domestic violence can seek refuge. It provides for free community based anti domestic violence counselling at every court in the communities as well as the protection order forms for use by survivors.
Guests from neighbouring countries like Kenya are also expected to attend. Poultry marketing a challenge to small scale farmers
