BY KUDAKWASHE TAGWIREYI POLICIES to deal with sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the country are lacking co-ordination and implementation as the policy documents gather dust, it has been claimed.
This was revealed on Wednesday at the High-Level Political Compact (HLPC) Harare Provincial and stakeholders engagement meeting chaired by Affairs ministry secretary Moses Mhike.
“Let’s co-ordinate, the government, civic society organisations, traditional leaders, churches and our development partners. After that, we need to move to communities and work as a united front,” he said, adding that SGBV was a scourge that required stakeholders to contribute in coming up with solutions.
ACT Alliance Zimbabwe co-ordinator, Sostina Takure told NewsDay Weekender that problems encountered in implementation of SGBV policies included that 90% of churches in Zimbabwe were silent on the issue and were excluded from SGBV programmes.
Musasa Project executive director, Vimbanashe Mutendeki said between 2020 and 2022, her organisation assisted more than 750 survivors of child marriages.
“Most of these survivors were in need of shelter. About 75% of these survivors were re-united with their families,” she said.
Statistics from the United Nations Children’s Fund show that one woman in three in Zimbabwe aged 20 to 49 was married before the age of 18, while 5% of girls are married before the age of 15.
