A Double Dose To The GBV Fight: Gweru One Stop-Centre and Safe Shelter Linkages Help Ease Referral Pathways For Survivors Of Gender-Based Violence

By Michael Gwarisa recently in Shurugwi

In 2012, Sharon Hove (Not-Real Name), married the love of her life in one of the fanciest weddings Gweru has ever hosted.  They had two children together. Life was normal and all was going so well.

However, the honeymoon was not to last long as her husband changed into a total stranger and started abusing her.

At the just-held International Women’s Day Commemorations in Shurugwi, Sharon took a bold stance and narrated her abuse story in the presence of hundreds of people at Chitora Primary School grounds.  HealthTimes made a follow-up interview to get an in-depth appreciation of her ordeal.

Our wedding was the best wedding ever, my husband was so loving and caring all went well until he started changing to be a monster in 2017. He lost affection towards me,” said Sharon.

“He started having different types of girlfriends. Sometimes l did not ask because he was the breadwinner and l was not employed. I couldn’t bring food to the table so he took advantage of me not only that, but because he knew very well that I was an orphan and did not complete my ordinary level due to my poor background.”

They lived in a company house in Shurugwi then, and when the abuse continued with no hope in sight, she tried to report it to the company superiors who in turn made her life a living hell by evicting the couple from the company lodgings.

“They said we have nothing to help you with because whatever our worker says we don’t go against him. We were then given 30 days’ notice to vacate the company house.  I was not employed we were homeless. l then went to Gweru that’s where I am staying now.”

Sharon has since left her abusive marriage and has ventured into a poultry and clothing business in Gweru. She however wishes she had known earlier about the One Stop Centre (OSC) for survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Safe Shelter for GBV survivors in Gweru.

In Gweru, the linkages between the One Stop Centre (OSC), and Safe Shelter have brought relief to survivors of Gender-Based Violence across the entire Midlands province. Many times, a survivor of GBV visits the Musasa Walk-in centre as the first entry point before being referred to the One Stop Centre for clinical services which include getting a medical examination, administration of Post Exposure Prophylaxes (PEP), screening and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) or Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Initiation. If a survivor of rape so happens to visit the Gweru One Stop Centre but has needs for temporary shelter or psychosocial support, she is referred to the Musasa Safe Shelter in Gweru.

The One Stop Centre is housed at Gweru Provincial Hospital. Through technical support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Gweru OSC was established in 2014 through collaboration between the Ministry of Women Affairs Community Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MOWACSMED) and the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC). The Gweru shelter on the other hand became fully operational in March 2015 and is part of the 15 shelters run by Musasa. UNFPA supported the set-up of these shelters.

Nyarai Mubaiwa, the Gweru One Stop Centre Administrator said there has been an increase in the number of Sexual Gender Based violence reported cases since the establishment of the One Stop Centre.

“We have offered services to more than 8000 survivors ever since we started offering services,” said Nyarai.

“We also provide services to survivors living with disabilities. The One Stop Centre has been beneficial. We have seen an influx in the number of reported cases, especially Sexual Violence cases meaning the community now knows what to do when they encounter GBV.”

She said before the establishment of the One Stop Centre, survivors of sexual violence would report whilst they were already pregnant but of late they are coming to the centre within 72 hours.

Services offered at the One Stop Centre include Health care/clinical management of sexual abuse which is offered by staff from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Legal Aid is offered by the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA), and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) offers police services through the Victim Friendly Unit (VFU). The Ministry of Women’s Affairs offers psychosocial support (and overall administration of the OSC reporting to the Hospital sister in charge.

The centre serves clients from the Midlands province and some parts of Matabeleland province. She said they receive survivors as young as nine years up to 17 years and the majority of perpetrators are people who are supposed to be protecting the minors. These include relatives, neighbours, family members, friends, and religious leaders among others. The OSC also provides dignity kits to survivors who need them.

UNFPA receives its funding for Gender Based Violence prevention and response from the Governments of Britain, Ireland and the European Union under the Health Resilience Fund; the Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and girls from the European Union and Japanese Pharmaceutical company Takeda under the Women at the Centre Programme.

The One Stop Centre model started off with the UNFPA Zimbabwe Country Office in 2009 when the oldest One Stop Centre was set up in Rusape District with support from the Safety and Emergency Response Fund as part of the emergency response to GBV in the country.

UNFPA Zimbabwe Programs Analyst Gender and GBV, Patricia Mujajati said the One Stop Centre model has eased referral pathways for survivors of GBV.

“Up to now, we have set up 30 One Stop Centres in the country with support from UNFPA in partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Communities Small and Medium Enterprises Development. The One Stop Centre Model is a model that we found works for the survivors of GBV. It minimises transport costs in that all service providers that are required to offer the services to the survivors are in one place,” said Mujajati.

She however said there are still gaps around ensuring follow-up and proper case management of the survivors and as UNFPA they are constantly seeking support from development partners and government to ensure that a properly functional case management system is put in place.

Meanwhile, the shelter is located in Gweru urban. It has the capacity of holding 30 clients at a given point. The shelter serves as a recuperating institution for women and girls who experience different forms of gender based violence. Clients at the shelter are assisted with basic medical care fees, transport support, children’s costs (such as clothing), and basic needs such as food and accommodation services. The shelter is designed and equipped to provide a comfortable, private and secure setting to support the healing process of the victims and survivors. Comprehensive and coordinated services include provision of emergency shelter, psychosocial counselling, rehabilitation and social (re)integration.

Musasa Programs Officer, Princess Khumalo said the safe shelter has empowered survivors in their quest to get justice.

“We do pre and post-court counselling sessions where we try and help the survivor understand the criminal procedures, what she can expect at the courts. We don’t tell her what to say but we tell them to maintain her statement and not to change it for whatever reason. Maintain what you told the police the first time and don’t be intimidated to change your statement by anyone. We try our best because at the end of the day, we want that survivor to get justice,” said Khumalo.

The shelter receives an average of 300 walk-in survivors who come through to report abuse from all over the Midlands. Most of the cases are of Physical abuse, Economic Abuse and rape of which in most cases it’s the young girls, the adolescents who are victims of rape.

The safe shelter receives survivors from all over Midlands Province and they come through service providers like the Victim Friendly Unit, Ministry of Health, and the One Stop Centre Gweru, they also come from the Courts be it the Civil Court or the Criminal Court. Some referrals are also made by community-based club member structures while some come through after knowing about Musasa on social media and through the Media.

The most prevalent cases that present at the Shelter are rape, sexual assaults, physical abuse and most clients are victims of desertion and rejection by their partners. The rural areas that are served by the shelter have very limited Post post-exposure prophylaxes (PEP) services at the rural health centres and are at times difficult to access due to the long distances sometimes involved. Clients are provided with bus fares to come to the shelter whilst accessing PEP services at the One Stop Centre.

NB// The true identity of the survivor has been concealed to protect the her. 

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