GENDER-BASED violence (GBV) cases have gone up from 500 reported per month to 818 reported in only two weeks as families are forced to spend more time indoors due to the national lockdown.
BY BRENNA MATENDERE
The spike has also been reported around the world amid calls for authorities to swiftly move in and stop GBV.
Precious Taru, the director of Msasa Project, said before the lockdown they received an average of 500 calls per month.
“Before the start of the lockdown, as Msasa Project through our call back hotline calls we were receiving about 500 cases in the whole month.
“But in the last two weeks alone, we started looking at the cases that were coming. These are being reported by women, young girls and even some men in communities talking about the gender-based violence that they are facing,” she said.
“So in that period, we have received 818 cases. This means that cases of domestic violence have risen greatly during this lockdown period.”
Taru urged victims to report the cases and desist from suffering in silence.
