As the country takes part in the 16 days of activism against Gender-based Violence (GBV), calls have been made for an all-year-round campaign to fight the vice consistently and end it.
Speaking at the GBV commemorations held in Beitbridge this Monday, the District Officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Vusumuzi Siduli, urged stakeholders in the border town to work together towards eradicating the bad culture of gender-based violence.
“We can’t allow the victimisation of vulnerable members of our community hence the call to eradicate all forms of GBV in the district,” Siduli said.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) victim friendly unit official, Assistant Inspector Terrence Sewera, said society is part of the solution in dealing with sexual offenses and domestic violence.
“We want to partner with the people of Beitbridge in fighting crimes of passion and we are calling for deterrent sentences to the offenders,” he said.
Acting Beitbridge Mayor, Councillor Takavingei Mahachi, has called for more resources in awareness campaigns against cultural practices that lead to GBV.
“As a local authority we want to protect the women, girls, and children especially the girl child who are victims of gender-based violence,” he said.
District Schools Inspector for Beitbridge, Raxon Phiri, called for an all-year-round campaign against gender-based violence in order to overcome the vice.
“As the country extends the 16 days of activism to 365 days, we must also scale up services to support victims,” he said.
Calls were also made to stop the culture of child marriages which has seen an increase in girls dropping out of school after falling pregnant.
