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Mat North, No Escape For GBV Victims

Lack of safe houses in most parts of Matabeleland province has led to many victims failing to report GBV cases. Image by The Mail & Guardian


BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 30, 2021

A lack of safety nets to protect people experiencing gender-based violence in Matabeleland North could mean a failure to eradicate the plague.


MATABELELAND NORTH (The Citizen Bulletin) — Orphaned at 16, *Cebo Dube* from Lubangwe village is struggling to live a normal life following years of physical and emotional abuse from her uncle.

A fear of neglect and more severe abuse has prompted her decision to not pursue legal action against her perpetrator, despite support from her friends encouraging her to report the abuse to community leaders.


“Just last week, he punched me before threatening to set me ablaze in a kitchen hut where I was.”
Cebo Dube, whose name has been changed to protect her identity


She says he was angry over a plastic bucket that she forgot outside after laundry and goats drank water from it.

Her uncle is the sole provider for the family.

“When my mother died five years ago, my siblings and I were split among her brothers and sisters and that's how I ended up in Lubangwe. It was not out of choice,” Cebo who dropped out of school says.

“I did not finish my form four, because I just felt tired of being beaten for crimes that I would not have committed. My uncle used to discipline me with open hands and kicks for losing a pen, a book or even coming back late from school despite giving him a valid excuse and even his wife, because of her fear of his temper, has decided to be silent about my abuse.”

Cebo has also experienced verbal abuse, being told she is “disgraceful, hopeless and poor”.

Her desire is to find domestic work that will take her out of her perpetrator, but due to her age, COVID-19 disruptions and the fear to ask for permission to leave her family, she is forced to stay.

Cebo's situation is aggravated by the lack of safe houses for victims like her in most parts of Matabeleland North province.

For instance, in the Hwange district, which covers Victoria Falls, Hwange urban and rural areas like Lubangwe, Matetsi, Chidobe and other communities, there is no infrastructure to cater for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) victims and survivors.

Gwanda One Stop Centre...Such centres provide treatment and support to survivors of gender based violence. Image by ZWLA


This lack of safe houses has led to many victims failing to report GBV cases that are as extreme as sexual abuse, physical abuse and even emotional abuse, according to Lloyd Dumbure, senior programs officer from Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Services (SAFAIDS).

“One of the challenges that we have faced as an organization in Hwange like in other provinces like Mashonaland is that there is the absence of safe shelters for GBV survivors and that's a big issue,” Dumbure noted.

“We have established that as people report their cases, they go back to their perpetrators and that has some negative implications in terms of their safety and in the end, that's why most of the survivors withdraw their cases because they'll be under pressure and they have nowhere to seek refuge.”


“One example of those cases was of a woman with a disability in the district who ended up withdrawing her case after she was forced to live under the same roof with her perpetrator.”
Lloyd Dumbure, SAFAIDS senior programs officer


Since the beginning lockdowns, GBV service providers in Zimbabwe say they have seen an increase in reported GBV cases, including psychological, physical, sexual and economic forms of violence.

During the first 11 days of the lockdown, the National GBV Hotline run by Musasa registered 764 reported cases of GBV, compared to 500-600 cases a month prior to COVID-19.  Beyond the spike in reporting, service providers say they have witnessed an increase in the severity of violence.


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They say in most cases GBV goes underreported due to harmful social norms and stigma. A survey by the international organisation, Social Development Direct (SDD) says the cases are going to be further exacerbated, especially on women and girls as they are confined in the homes.

“Their movement restricted, and support harder to access, these figures are likely to be an under-estimate of the actual levels of GBV during the pandemic,” SDD noted.

Despite the increase of GBV cases, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube at his 2022 pre-budget seminar in Victoria Falls on Saturday did not touch on the treasury setting aside some funds towards building homes for the GBV victims and survivors.

In the meantime, without adequate safety nets, many will continue to be abused.

“He tells me that he will be disciplining me and that it's according to the bible,” Cebo says as she holds back her tears.


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