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Vaidah Mashangwa
IT must be pointed out from the onset that there is no excuse for violent behaviour in any family. But many household members continue to succumb to violent behaviours on a daily basis. Millions of perpetrators worldwide have explanations and always try to justify their violent behaviour but the truth is none of these explanations are satisfactory, bad behaviour is bad behaviour.

Is it justifiable for a man to beat up his wife because she cooked okra instead of amacimbi?

Every day, scores of people in the country open newspapers to find stories and images of violence.

We have become a society that is emotionally exhausted from receiving and seeing so many violent messages and behaviours.

This year’s national theme for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence is “From peace in the home to peace in the community: promoting safe spaces for women and girls.”

The theme is befitting in that women and girls are the main target of violent behaviour by men. The courts seldom impose severe sentences on perpetrators of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and women continue to call for mandatory sentences for perpetrators of GBV.

This is further compounded by the fact that there are fewer women in decision making positions where laws pertaining to violence may be redefined and rewritten and it is sad to note that the deadline for Sadc to attain the 50/50 target representation of men and women in key decision making positions is drawing closer.

Zimbabwe, which introduced a quota system under the new Constitution now has 31,5 percent representation in the National Assembly.

Only five Sadc countries are close to the target of parity in Parliament and they are way above the 30 percent threshold previously set by the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development.

These countries are Seychelles with 43,8 percent, South Africa 42,3 percent, Mozambique 39,2 percent, Tanzania 36 percent and Angola 34 percent.

In Zimbabwe, it is mostly men who are in key ministerial portfolios such as Home Affairs, Defence, Finance, Education, Health, Trade and Industry.

Government through the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development developed the National Gender Policy, Girls and Young Women’s Empowerment Framework, Domestic Violence Act and established an Anti-domestic Violence Council and the Inter Ministerial Committee on Rape and Sexual Abuse of Women and Girls all in a bid to combat cases of GBV.

What is worrying is that GBV cases keep rising. There is need to revamp the laws and incorporate new legislation that imposes longer prison sentences on perpetrators of GBV.

Bulawayo like other places has experienced a sharp increase in cases of domestic violence in the past year including the murder of women by their partners or husbands but some perpetrators are given bail rendering the process lenient.

Cultures, family background and socio-economic status all influence the way people view domestic violence. Indeed this year’s 16 Days of Activism against GBV is befitting because violence is embedded in family life.

It affects and is affected by interpersonal communication used by the family. Apart from that, it is influenced by the cultural traditions and the issues of power and control in the family.

For most men, when personal goals are blocked frustration sets in which results in them becoming more quarrelsome, threatening and ultimately violent. From an individualist perspective, some people resort to violence because their communication skills are too limited to sustain an argument. Therefore peaceful homes start with an individual, then family and if the family is peaceful then communities become peaceful. If family members are violent then there is no way there can be peace in the family.

Women are more likely than men to be harmed by family violence. Male-female relations are affected as men have more power than women. Men have always viewed women as sex slaves and some feel that violence against women and girls is justified.

Some researchers have called for an end to viewing women as co-creators of a violent environment and it is high time that violence against women and girls is stopped.

It is important to discuss violence against a backdrop of cultural sensitivity. The community is also directly involved if a family is embroiled in violence because it acts as potential support for the family. Family violence also affects all the subsystems that surround the family.

According to the theme therefore, there is need to promote safe spaces for women and girls. Though both male and female children are equally susceptible to violence, studies show that girls are more likely than boys to be sexually abused and there is need to ensure that movement to and from school is free from any form of violence.

While sexual abuse of children may be perpetrated by strangers, most abusers are relatives, step-parents, family friends or close neighbours. Parents should avoid leaving young children especially girls in the company of males even the most trusted ones.

A study of 930 women revealed that 16 percent of the women had been sexually abused by their relatives and 4,5 percent had been asexually abused by their fathers and step-fathers. Boyfriends to single mothers are also frequent and possible abusers of girls.

There are some women who have remained in abusive relationships for years. Women’s economic dependence on men often keeps them trapped in violent family relations. Those that are quick to escape abusive marriages tend to be gainfully employed or have higher chances of employment and supportive relatives.

Some remain with their abusers because of a personal commitment to the relationship and because of this most marriages remain intact though the partners may have long lost admiration or respect of one another.

Bulawayo will be commemorating 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence on December 2 at Abundant Life Ministries Church at the Corner of Josiah Tongogara and 6th Avenue.

Vaidah Mashangwa is the Provincial Development Officer, Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Bulawayo Province. She can be contacted on 0772 111592 or via e-mail [email protected]