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Leonard Ncube,Victoria Falls Reporter
GENDER activists have called on Government to set aside funds to improve social services that are critical in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in communities.

Zimbabwe is, like the rest of the world, commemorating 16 Days of Activism against GBV which will run until December 10 under the theme: “Orange the world: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect.”

While citizens are generally being capacitated to report GBV cases, there are concerns about unavailability and inaccessibility to some of the critical services.

Of great concern is the distance to the nearest police station and clinic especially in Matabeleland North communities and also lack of safe shelter for protection of survivors.

The province has only one safe house in Bubi district, a situation which gender activists said exacerbates GBV as survivors are incapacitated to report abuse or stay away from perpetrators.

Buwalo Matalikilo Trust (BMT) executive director Mrs Anna Mandizha-Ncube implored Government to invest in structures that address gender issues.

She bemoaned prevalence of GBV cases both in rural and urban areas with many of those in the countryside going unreported.

“There is an upsurge of reported and unreported cases both in rural communities and urban areas like Hwange and Victoria Falls and we have noted that some of the cases became prevalent during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“A significant number of people now understands what 16 Days of Activism is all about but there is still need for awareness especially among men. The biggest challenge is that we have spent much energy on awareness raising but as a nation we are yet to really prioritise response to GBV because our national budget is extremely inadequate.

We have a Government department responsible for GBV issues but it is incapacitated to respond.

“Only one district has a safe shelter for survivors in Matabeleland North hence many cases are not reported as a result. We need commitment to put financial resources towards response. Some communities are far away from service providers such as police, courts and clinics hence we say for justice to be served these service providers need to be closer,” said Mrs Mandizha-Ncube.

Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum programmes development and fundraising manager Ms Thando Makubaza concurred.

“Communities that we work in are now aware of GBV issues but there is a concern about lack of necessary structures and institutions that are supposed to deal with GBV. There is under resourcing of activities around GBV to the extent that many cases are not reported since the referral system is not properly functional,” she said.

Ms Makubaza said awareness raising must be complemented by action to capacitate survivors to report abuse.

She said some women groups and Padare/Enkundleni have been engaging communities including men and boys to intensify fight against GBV.

However, some citizens said more needs to be done in awareness raising and importance of 16 Days of Activism against GBV because the issues are complex.

A Victoria Falls resident Mr Christopher Mufakwatsi said the 16-day period is an opportunity to reach out to every citizen about GBV.

“This is the period to put more emphasis on fighting gender-based violence. Efforts should be made to include men and boys because they are also abused although women are the majority of victims. Awareness raising should be continuous so that survivors are capacitated to report,” he said.

Hwange West Constituency Junior MP Kelvin Moyo who is a pupil at Mosi-oa-Tunya High School in Victoria Falls said resources should be set aside to capacitate youth on GBV issues.

“Youth should speak out as they hold the key to a better Zimbabwe hence their capacitation will help in realizing the goals to end GBV which thrives in quietness. GBV has potential to retard progress in the country hence it’s every citizen’s duty to advocate against abuse,” he said. — @ncubeleon