The Sunday Mail
The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, which ended yesterday, threw the spotlight on this scourge, all too common scourge, and under the theme of uniting against such violence put in the forefront the necessary response, that we all stop accepting that gender-based violence whatsoever should be acceptable.
Zimbabwe has been building up the necessary legal framework against gender-based violence since independence, with this process accelerated during the Second Republic as major efforts were made to align the actual law that is applied to the constitutional rights entrenched in 2013. So, we have, for example, the new Marriages Act, with its minimum age of 18 and need for active consent by both partners in both civil and customary marriages. We have made it clear that 18 is the age of consent for any sexual activity.
We have made it clear that the law concerning assault applies to gender-based violence and needs to be enforced, just as it has always been enforced in other areas. We have seen proposals for upgrading the sentences for rape, to bring out the seriousness of this exceptionally severe crime of assault.
More importantly, the police have been building up their expertise and their willingness to act swiftly, promptly and effectively on complaints where sexual-based violence is an element. It is all very well having the law, but if it is not applied, it is just words in a book.
These days, when someone makes a complaint about such violence, there is no longer, as might have been the case even a few years ago, for the perpetrator being told he hit someone a bit too hard and to be more careful next time, or even an investigation into what might have provoked such violence, followed by what could be interpreted by a shrug and the thought “well, these things happen”, or even perhaps the victim of the violence was “asking for it”.
Admittedly, when cases of violence, or at least some types of violence, come to court, there can be mitigating circumstances as well as aggravating circumstances, but the courts and the prosecutors pressing the charge need to be ever more alert over just how mitigating any provocation towards totally unacceptable behaviour can be.
Police, prosecutors and courts have long since abandoned any attempt to even inquire into how a woman dressed or acted before being raped, as this is correctly considered totally irrelevant, the simple “no” being all that is required.
The police, for some years, have had victim-sensitive procedures, with proper training for police officers, when dealing with such complaints of gender-based violence and these are being applied more readily. Perhaps the major and earlier reforms in the police service, where women officers achieved full equality, including for promotion, made a difference into implementing the theory and making it normal practice.
The police have also had their forensic laboratories properly equipped with what is required to produce proof when gender-based assaults occur. Since so much of such assault takes place without witnesses, the need for corroborating evidence is important. This is one reason why prompt reporting and prompt medical procedures are so essential right from the lowest level of assault, where there might just be minor bruising all the way to rape, where conviction is far more certain if the evidence is gathered within hours of the violence.
We are also now moving into better practical support for the victims of violence, such as establishing places of safety in every district. It is all very well to be able to charge the violent person, and all very well for the victim to get civil court orders, but when people are living together, places of safety become important, while the mess is being sorted out and the ponderous legal procedures are being followed.
There is an extra element. It is all very well to have the law, as we now largely have. It is all very well having the police, prosecutors and courts ready to act, as they now are and do. But do people, the victims of assault and violence, make the complaints and use the system? Are neighbours prepared to intervene and at the very least offer support, offer to be a witness, and offer practical back-up, like a lift to the police station?
Here is now the real problem. Quality and competent research has given us indications of just how common gender-based violence is, how common rape can be. We have found one in three women aged 15 to 49 have experienced gender-based violence, one in four women aged 15 and above some form of sexual violence. When we compare those percentages against the data assembled at police stations, let alone the data from the courts, we find huge gaps, vast numbers of cases where no report was made, no charge laid.
We are worried about the rising number of cases of all forms of gender-based violence, and so we should be. The numbers are bad. But in one sense this might be a sign of real progress, that more of those who once kept quiet, because they were frightened or because they felt no one would care, are now coming forward. When you had so many victims keeping silent, even a modest greater willingness will see a lot more cases reported.
But regardless of whether the rising number of reports, the rising number of charges, reflect increases in violence or increases in a willingness to report because effective action and help is now there, the actual numbers mean we all need to take action, and effective action.
Our theme for the 16 days of action was: “Unite! Activism to end violence against women and girls”. That needs to be what we do, always, not just for 16 days but for 365 days every year. And we need to act, not just talk and mutter. Public opinion and cultural norms are changing, slowly.
We need to play our part practically in changing them a lot faster, as individuals, families, communities and neighbours, making it clear that all gender-based violence in all circumstances is unacceptable, not just the worst cases or when we think it is overdone, and be prepared to support and help those we know or suspect are victims. That is the practical part of “unite”, and the result will be the desired ending of all gender-based violence. We can do it, together.
