The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has said members of the security forces are not above the law and urged victims of brutality to report to the police for justice to take its course.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been brutalised by soldiers and police officers during the crackdown on recent protests, while several women also revealed falling victim to assault.
Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, police spokesperson Commissioner Charity Charamba said any abuse should be reported to the law enforcement agents, with a view to arresting perpetrators and gathering evidence to initiate interventions so that victims receive medical care.
“Without being discriminatory, we are alive to the fact that women and children suffer the brunt of any conflict the world over, hence our call for all those who might have been affected to come forth. We reiterate that all cases reported to us will be handled in a professional manner which accords victims full protection of the law and privacy,” she said.
Charamba said police did not condone any unlawful conduct by security forces.
She said women who were living in fear of stigma or mistrust should be bold enough to approach the police.
“Some victims may be scared to report for one reason or the other. It might be fear of reprisals, stigma or mistrust but we are saying if such heinous acts are allowed to go unresolved, they have lasting traumatic implications on the victims,” Charamba said.
“The law is clear; for each and every offence, there should be redress or a penalty, hence our passionate appeal to members of the public to report.”
Musasa Project director Netty Musanhu said there was need for women to report any abuse against them and her organisation stood ready to facilitate and assist the victims.
“It should never be allowed to happen again. We have had a lot of cases of gender-based violence in this country and if we allow the situation in every chaos for women to be violated and it goes unnoticed or unreported, we are creating a society that is characterised by chaos,” she said.
