31 October 2009 Slyvia Chirawu, National Coordinator, Women and Law In Southern Africa – Zimbabwe

Defining basis gender concepts Taken from SADC Protocol on Gender and Development Go through the SADC Protocol on Gender and development “gender” means the roles, duties and responsibilities which are culturally or socially ascribed to women, men, girls and boys;

Gender equality “gender equality” means the equal enjoyment of rights and the access to opportunities and outcomes, including resources, by women, men, girls and boys;

Gender equity “gender equity” means the just and fair distribution of benefits, rewards and opportunities between women, men, girls and boys;

Gender stereotypes “gender stereotypes” means the beliefs held about characteristics, traits and activity domains that are deemed appropriate for women, men, girls and boys based on their conventional roles both domestically and socially;

Gender sensitive “gender sensitive” means acknowledging and taking into account the specific gender needs of both men, women, boys and girls at all levels of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;

Gender analysis Looking at the sexual division of labour, the access and control women and men have over inputs required for their labour and the inputs( benefits of their labour). It also refers to a systematic way of looking at the different impacts of development on women and men. Gender analysis takes into account how factors of race, class, ethnicity or other factors interact with gender to produce discriminatory results.

Gender based violence Gender based violence: Means all acts perpetrated against women, men, girls and boys on the basis of their sex which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, psychological, or economic harm including the threat to take such acts, or undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on or deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life in peace time and during situations of armed or other forms of conflict.

GBV continued … Simply put, GBV refers to those instances where violence is done on the basis of gender as socially and culturally construed. Acts perpetrated against women, men, girls and boys. Acts are perpetrated on the basis of one’s sex. It causes physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, sexual or economic harm. It occurs in both public and private spheres. It occurs in peace time or times of conflict. Women are the worst affected.

Link between gender and violence Gender is a socially and culturally ascribed norm. Therefore gender based violence can take place on the basis of socialization or culture. In her book titled “Culture and choice”, Alice Armstrong chronicled how culture is often used as a basis for violence against women. Due to socialization, boys grow up believing that they have a right to discipline a wife and the latter too, ends up believing that she can be “punished” for disobeying her husband.

Link contind… There is no equality when women and men do not enjoy the same rights. The statistics on violence point to the fact that more women than men suffer violence and globally, violence against women is a major cause of death of women. There are also economic costs associated with violence against women that are rarely mentioned. In Zimbabwe the cost in terms of money of the effects of violence have not been the subject of any study. A study by the Centre for Research on violence against women and children in Ontario Canada in 1995 found that 34% of women who were battered could not work the following day. The combined net loss of earnings came to over $ 7 million. Violence exacts a heavy toll on the workplace through increased absenteeism and staff turnover as well as reduced productivity.

Link contintd… There is no equity due to the socialization process that values boys over girls. For instance a boy may remain in school whilst a girl is pulled out because of lack of money in a household. The girl will not have many economic alternatives. She may be forced to get married early and even if she is abused, she stays in a marriage at all costs because she feels that she cannot survive economically without the husband. She cannot return to her natal home because society does not tolerate returnee daughters.

Link contind…. By just being a woman, one can be subjected to violence at home, at school, at work, in the streets, everywhere. Therefore the distinction between domestic violence and gender based violence is that the former occurs in private within a domestic setting usually between people who have a relationship – wife/husband, parent/child, girlfriend/boyfriend- while the latter can occur in private or public. Perpetrators of gender based violence include the state and its agents. Therefore domestic violence is a form of gender based violence.

Important dates –DVA DV Act became law on 26 February 2007 Started operating on 25 October 2007 Domestic Violence regulations of June 2008

Important aspects of the DVA Who is affected ? What is domestic violence? Where does one go to for assistance? What kind of assistance can one get? Exercise : Go thorough the handout on DVA together.

Successes The law itself came about after a long struggle The SADC protocol on gender and development Increase in cases of DV being reported to courts – both criminal and civil Presence of VFU at all Police Stations General awareness created Collaboration among stakeholders Adult rape clinic

Challenges Poverty in the JDS and access to justice Attitudes of service providers : Police, Clerks of Courts, Magistrates, Medical personnel No 24 hour service provision Economic difficulties Culture and socialisation Influence of semi-autonomous social fields Lack of budget for implementation Challenges related to the ADVC Lack of awareness of the law

Conclusion Concerted efforts of all stakeholders needed More awareness creation Budgetary allocation for act to function