InterPress News Service (IPS); Tuesday, 11 February, 1997.
Josephine Masimba

Findings revealed in a survey by the Musasa Project, a non-governmental women's rights' group, were examined at a workshop last week attended by human rights activists, health workers, lawyers, other representatives civil society and state officials.

The survey was based on interviews conducted in March 1996 with 972 women aged 18 years and over on their experiences since the age of 16. It was done in Midlands, one of Zimbabwe's eight provinces.

Researchers found that one in two women had suffered psychological abuse, ranging from insults and threats of violence to having their partner boast of or bring home other lovers.

One in three had been sexually abused or harassed, or forced to have sex against their will (some respondents could not distinguish between attempted and actual rape), while one in six had been choked, strangled, intentionally burned or attacked with a weapon. One out of every 12 respondents said she had been physically abused while pregnant. Only about 17 percent reported no violence against them.

One-third of the women had suffered economic abuse, such as being deliberately deprived of money or prevented from working by their partners. Most of the respondents were abused by someone they knew -- a spouse, partner, in-law or neighbor.

Highlighting the damage such abuses cause, Deputy Health Minister Tsungirirai Hungwe said: "Typical outcomes of physical and sexual assault include partial and permanent injury, pelvic inflammatory disease, unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage and gynecological problems."

"Consequently violence impacts on a number of other areas of health, such as maternal morbidity and mortality, sexually transmitted diseases and women's mental health," she added. "Because of the high prevalence of HIV infection in Zimbabwe, women or children who have been sexually assaulted also face a very real risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS.

"Those leaving violent relationships often have limited options to support themselves and their children, and face poverty and isolation. Each year, a number of women try to commit suicide to escape such difficult situations.

"Domestic violence can have a profound effect on children, both through the risk of assault if they witness it or try to intervene, and through the impact that witnessing such abuse can have on a child's emotional and psychological development."

Given all these factors, Hungwe felt that "a multi-sectoral approach is needed violence against women." This perception is reflected in the recommendations of the workshop, which include a call for closer links between the different agencies that come into contact with cases of violence.

The workshop also recommended research on how to intervene in cases of domestic abuse and the drawing up of a domestic violence bill, while it called for community sensitization and education activities involving both government and non-governmental agencies as well as community initiatives to prevent violence.

Other recommendations included training health workers to deal with abuse; developing counselling, referral and public education; and looking into related medico-legal issues.

"What we're saying is watch out and beware. One day we'll get there. What we're saying is women's rights are human rights. We won't have them shelved anymore," said Idai Chengu, Legal Officer at Musasa.

Participants noted that violence against Zimbabwe's women is fostered by factors ranging from inadequate legal protection for women, cultural values that reinforce female submission and male dominance and the economic marginalization of women.

Alex Jaravaza of the Zimbabwe Republic Police told IPS, "There isn't even a specific crime called domestic violence. It falls under common assault. Even when someone is convicted of assault, the sentence is usually based on the degree of injury, so this means that some degrees of violence are accepted.

"This is because we live in a violent society. A child is beaten by his parents or teachers and he is allowed to beat his youngsters (younger siblings) so when he grows up, he'll also beat his wife."

Conservatives in this Southern African nation generally argue that beating up your wife or girlfriend is a justifiable norm, peculiar to Zimbabwean culture, and that people who fight against such practices have been influenced by outsiders. However, participants in the workshop explained that abuse transcended cultural and national boundaries.

"In the U.S. it's so important for young girls to have boyfriends that they put up with all sorts of abusive behavior," said Lori Heise, the Washington-based director of the Health and Development Policy Project.

Musasa Project's Oppah Midzi quoted a Chinese adage which, she said, goes: "A woman married is like a pony bought: I'll ride and whip her as I like."

However, Midzi added that there were factors peculiar to countries like Zimbabwe that promote violence against women, such as the emphasis on female submission as well as the importance women and families place on marriage.

"Lobola," a bridal price which the wife's family can be made to repay, at least in part, to the husband if she leaves him, is another inhibiting factor, participants said. According to Midzi, it often makes families reluctant to support women attempting to escape abusive relationships.

In fact, female relatives might even show their own scars from beatings to convince an abused woman to return home and be a docile partner.

While the study found that women in unions not sanctioned by civil or customary law were the worst abused, Midzi observed that this could be because they more readily discussed the negative side of their relationships than married women.

This is because of the belief that "issues pertaining to the family should be kept confidential within family circles," she explained. "Reporting violence undermines the man's authority. Society does not readily accept reporting to the relevant authorities for assistance."

Midzi also said that victims could even believe they had somehow attracted the abuse through some personal failing because society -- even the courts -- frequently shifts the blame from the perpetrator to alcohol, drugs, stress or other factors.

"The social setting has an influence on how one perceives violence," she added. "This also determines the definition, perpetration and reporting of incidents.

"Children are taught that males are dominant and that violence is an acceptable means of asserting power and resolving conflict. Such behavior becomes internalized as they grow up and they may not find anything wrong in executing such standards in adulthood."

Jonah Gokova of Padare, an all-male NGO that advocates healthy gender relations, agreed. "There is a problem in society, and society has produced this problem," he said.

Of the women covered in the survey, 34 percent were aged 26 to 36 years, six percent 55 and above, while 75 percent were married or cohabiting. Twenty percent were in polygamous unions, six percent were single and 10 percent widowed.

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