THE United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says more needs to be done in the fight against gender-based violence and its subsequent effects.
Addressing journalists at the Epworth One-Stop Centre on Wednesday, UNFPA eastern and southern Africa regional director Lydia Zigomo said the centre was offering vital services to address gender-based violence (GBV).
“We have to create violence-free zones, where girls and women can thrive,” Zigomo said.
The one-stop centre was funded by the European Union (EU) and its partners.
“The girl child is the most disadvantaged and affected especially by the economy which places them in the hands of perpetrators. The challenge with that [child marriages or marriage of convenience forced by the economic standing] is it will be an unbalanced union and the young woman will be at the receiving end of abuse,” she said.
Zigomo said the rising number of female school dropouts was also a leading cause of abuse as they end up venturing into transactional sex with older men to escape poverty at home.
She said Zimbabwe requires more centres aimed at addressing GBV.
“Epworth has 250 000 or more people, therefore, this one stop centre cannot accommodate everyone. We need more of these. As a short term measure they are using mobile centres which are very useful in raising awareness but by the same token, mobile centres can operate for several hours in a day while the static one is open 24/7, so we need more of these,” Zigomo said.
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“These can be located across Epworth to be able to cater for the needs of people there because more cases are coming up.”
There are six similar one-stop centres across the country so far.
More than 100 cases of GBV were reported in September at the centre with an average of 700 cases being recorded annually.
