Back to Index

This article participates on the following special index pages:

Human rights violations against women and truth commissions
Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU)
July 29, 2009

Download this document
- Acrobat PDF version (144KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here.

Introduction

Gender-based violence, be it in the home or in the public arena, impacts powerfully on the livelihoods of women. When violence becomes embedded in society as a culture, it makes women vulnerable, especially during periods of political tension. Violence is at its worst during times of war and civil strife, and constitutes a major obstacle to development, peace and security.

Women in Zimbabwe have been victims of political violence since pre-colonial times. There has never been a specific examination of the impact of this violence on women. With the development of the concept of transitional justice over the years, Zimbabwean civil society has strongly advocated victims' rights, demanding redress for past violations. The formation of an inclusive government in Zimbabwe through the "Global Political Agreement" (GPA) of September 2008 has resulted in these demands becoming more pronounced as discussions concerning national healing, reconciliation, rehabilitation, and the cessation of politically motivated violence are taking place across political divides in Zimbabwe. These discussions, however, appear not to explicitly address the treatment of women survivors of politically motivated violence. This is an oversight that is not peculiar to Zimbabwe, but is evident in most post conflict approaches to transitional justice. Most transitional processes are not gender sensitive and, more often than not, leave women out without awarding them redress or protective measures to avoid future recurrence of abuses.

Women suffer during times of conflict both as primary and secondary victims. They are primary victims when they themselves are attacked and secondary victims when people they are close to are attacked and they have to witness the abuse and nurse injuries emanating from the violence. Women's domestic roles make them vulnerable - hence their need for protection different from that which men require in times of conflict.

Sexual assault is the most common violation against women during war and times of civil disturbance in which they are primary victims. There is a causal link between sexual violence and armed conflict and there is evidence that suggests that sexual violence is increasingly becoming a phenomenon of armed conflict. There are many casualties in an armed conflict and amongst the wounded are women and children who have been sexually violated, yet their suffering and trauma are rarely recognized or addressed'. Rape in conflict or under repressive regimes is not incidental nor is it private. It is routinely used and has a strategic function - which is to achieve specific military or political objectives by inducing fear in the populace. It can also be used as a method of cultural adulteration, violation and control, as was seen in the ethnic conflicts in Rwanda in 1994. Violence also serves as a tool of political repression, where activists, women and men alike, members of the opposition and their family members, are targeted in such attacks. It is used as a form of punishment for women suspected of being sympathetic to the opposition.

Download full document

Visit the Research and Advocacy Unit fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP