Vheneka village welcomes the message to speak out against violence

Cheriel Dzobo

There was consensus by the women who were participants to a women hearing in Vheneka village, that speaking out about their experiences of abuse and violence was one of the surest ways of eliminating violence against women and girls in Chipinge district.

Ms Cynthia Gwenzi who was the guest visitor for the hearing, encouraged the women to speak out and fight the tendency of suffering in silence. She went on to say that tolerating gender based violence and rape is tantamount to violence as this lead to more people falling victims. The women who attended the hearing session were notified of the existence of a drop in centre at the PYCD Offices. The main purpose of the drop in centre is to receive and document all cases of violence against women including harmful cultural practices that hinder women’s positive contribution to the development of our community. Women who come to the centre are offered counselling and other relevant skills to institute the process of apprehending perpetrators of gender based violence.

The women hearing attracted 25 women from Vheneka who were mobilised to speak out about their personal experiences in response to the various challenges in the ward which includes early child marriages, school drop outs, wife beating and high cases of divorce.

Women who attended appreciated the role of PYCD for enlightening them to understand that they have a voice and were equal partners for development together with their male counterparts.

“Women hearing has been part of our response to afford women an environment and platform that is free of men so that the participants can freely reflect and plan on the best way to end GBV and early child marriages” Cynthia Gwenzi , PYCD Gender Wellness and Advocacy Officer reiterated

The Women Hearing in Vheneka was organised as part of PYCD’s commemoration of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence that is being held under the theme: Orange the World: Generation Equality stands against Rape. Vheneka village is found in ward 27 of Chipinge South constituency. There has been numerous reports of gender based violence in the ward, and it becomes imperative to hold a women hearing session. The women hearing in Vheneka village aimed to prevent gender-based violence through a consultative approach.

The women hearing in Vheneka brought to the fore the main challenge for violence prevention as the absence of health or social services. The absence of health and social services expose the village with little support with which to intervene in cases of gender based violence. There is little police intervention, and the village is left to police the situation themselves. On the other hand, there is also little social services support for women victims, and therefore, the priority for the village then becomes the maintenance of the status quo rather than protection of the woman experiencing abuse or violence.