By Nthokozo Gudu
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises and Development on Friday launched a Gender Based Violence (GBV) National Strategy for preventing and addressing this scourge.
Women’s Affairs, Community , Small and Medium Enterprises and Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the government has implemented effective legal frameworks and institutional mechanisms to prevent and respond to gender based violence.
“Government has put in place legal and policy frameworks backed by institutional mechanisms that are working towards Gender Based Violence prevention and response, laws such as the Domestic Violence Act continue to work for the protection of all victims of domestic violence,” she said.
The Minister added that this strategy is key to achieving the national vision of attaining an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
“Our Constitution provides us with a solid point of reference in terms of advancing gender equality and elimination of Gender Based Violence,and one of its founding principles is gender equality, in the same vein the National Development Strategy 1 recognizes gender mainstreaming in all sectors of the economy as an essential tool,This is key to achieving our vision 2030 that of an upper middle-income economy,” the Cabinet Minister highlighted.
Minister Mutsvangwa congratulated stakeholders who have been involved in the development of the strategy,which she said will greatly enhance the multi-sectoral coordination in preventing and responding to GBV.
“I am impressed by the collaborations ,partnerships and tremendous work you have all been doing in various spaces towards GBV prevention and response,and I am confident that the momentum is up-scaled going forward,” she said.
“Government acknowledges and expresses gratitude to the contribution of civil society organizations in our gender based violence prevention and response efforts .It is also my strong belief that as we continue to address this scourge effectively ,it is critical to address the root causes in particular issues of economic empowerment of women as lack of it increases women and girls’ vulnerability,” she said.
The Minister also added that ,”Zimbabwe recently commemorated the 16 days of Activism against GBV,the 16 days period is meant to amplify our voices but our goes beyond the 16 days,”
