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"She
probably asked for it!" - A preliminary study into Zimbabwean
societal perceptions of rape
Rumbidzai Dube, Research and Advocacy Unit
April
18, 2013
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Executive
Summary
Violence against
women and children is a common phenomenon in Zimbabwe. It occurs,
both in the private and public spheres, catalysed by a number of
factors that stem from the way in which society is structured. These
factors include culture, tradition, religion, politics, and the
economy. These factors contribute to shaping societal perceptions
of why violence against women occurs, how society perceives the
victim and the perpetrator, and how society responds to address
cases of violence against women. Amidst all the other forms of violence
against women such as wife battering and ritual killings, rape and
other forms of sexual violence are becoming increasing social ill
s in Zimbabwean society.
In order to
gain some understanding about public perceptions of sexual violence,
RAU carried a small preliminary study. This report is based on the
results of this study, which was done through the administration
of a questionnaire prepared by RAU with a special focus on rape
as a component of sexual violence.
The study revealed
interesting findings about how people view rape including that:
- Most people
had a good understanding of what rape is and they based it on
cultural implications;
- Most of
the respondents blamed culture for rape and a relatively high
number of persons thought that it was always the perpetrator’s
fault if rape occurred;
- Many people
who blamed culture for rape also viewed dressing as a contributory
factor to rape;
- The majority
of the people did not know if raping a commercial sex worker is
a crime o r not and many of them blamed cultural violations against
these workers
- Most of
the people who blamed culture believed that marital rape exists;
- Most people
thought it was not the child’s fault if the child got raped,
however more thought differently if the child was a teenager;
- Many people
believed that a boy can be raped;
- Most of
the people indicated that the first port of call after rape is
the police, with a significant number also saying a medical facility
but both groups were agreed that the report should be made within
48 hours;
- Very few
people knew that pregnancy could be prevented after rape;
- Even fewer
people knew that HIV could be prevented after rape;
- Most people
knew that there are laws that prohibit rape including marital
rape and statutory r ape;
- Many people
did not know of harmful cultural practices that make women susceptible
to rape.
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