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ZLHR on the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
November 26, 2007

Visit the index of articles on 16 Days of Activism

In commemorating the 16 days of activism to end violence against women, ZLHR joins the 16 days activism movement under the theme; Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence against Women. ZLHR takes the opportunity to focus on violence against women (VAW) within the gamut of gender-based violence, in an effort to highlight the plight of women vis a vis the escalating HIV/AIDS crisis in Zimbabwe. More compelling is the understanding that violence against women is a public health crisis, especially with regards to HIV/AIDS, where VAW is both the cause and the consequence of HIV infection. ZLHR maintains that state policies and practices should be sensitive to violence against women, and should actively seek to foster an environment which is conducive for the free and active participation of Women Human Rights Defenders in promoting the rights of women in Zimbabwe.

Given that almost half of the forty million persons in the world infected by HIV are women, it is instructive that reversing the impact of HIV/AIDS must involve a committed program of action that is informed by gender relations and its role in sexual and reproductive health, including its impact on HIV/AIDS mitigation and prevention. Violence against women as a risk factor in acquiring HIV needs to be addressed at policy level, in institutions of learning, business, in homes and in developmental interventions in communities. Violence against women as contextualized in the international human rights framework provides an enduring opportunity for states like Zimbabwe to fully address it in a comprehensive manner. Human rights are an important framework for responding to the linked vulnerabilities of violence against women and HIV. ZLHR agrees with the Centre for Women Global Leadership in calling for the promotion of the work on preventing VAW and also take this opportunity to:

- Call for greater accountability and political commitment not only from the Zimbabwe government but also from other stakeholders to prevent and punish all forms of violence against women in practice. (We take this opportunity to gladly note that the Domestic Violence Act is now operational)
- Call for increased awareness of the impact of violence against women, including engaging in measures to end it by men and boys.
- Call upon the Zimbabwe Republic Police to cease violence against women, especially human rights defenders as routinely witnessed in numerous incidences involving detained or protesting women and babies from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA).

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