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.
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