THE United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Women’s Affairs ministry have partnered other stakeholders in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV).

This was revealed during a GBV project update co-ordinated by the ministry, UNFPA and Musasa Project in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

Women’s Affairs ministry’s Matabeleland South development officer Merjury Sikundla said their interventions had saved many GBV victims.

“The shuttle services under the project moved many victims from rural areas to safer places, clinics and hospitals for free,” she said.

According to the police, the country has recorded a staggering 16 444 cases of GBV and 31 deaths since January this year with men cited as the main perpetrators.

UNFPA Zimbabwe programmes analyst for GBV, Patricia Mujajati, said the programme sought to reduce the risk of women and girls being victims of GBV.

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“The other intervention was community mobilisation through Musasa, which trained social and behavioural change champions to raise awareness on GBV at community level,” Mujajati said.

“Then we did capital building for non-GBV actors like health actors and food security actors who should be able to talk with GBV survivors.”

Musasa executive director Vimbainashe Mutendereki said raising awareness against GBV was key to fighting the vice.

“For us, change starts at knowledge when we look at women knowing what GBV is,” she said.

In January, the government launched the national strategy to prevent and address GBV, covering the period 2023-30.

At least 40% of Zimbabwean women experience physical violence, while 11% experience sexual violence as GBV haunts the country, the World Bank said in a recent report.

Posting on its page, the World Bank said GBV had become alarmingly prevalent, where women endure the peril within the confines of their own homes.
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