Harare [Zimbabwe], December 16: Zimbabwe on Friday launched a seven-year national strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV).
The national strategy, which runs from 2023-2030, will provide a guiding framework for a national response to GBV in Zimbabwe, one of the worst affected countries in the world by the scourge.
According to the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Zimbabwe's GBV prevalence stands at 40 percent, 10 percentage points higher than the global average.
The strategy's vision is therefore to achieve a 20 percent reduction in the prevalence of all forms of GBV and harmful practices by 2030 and to build a gender-just society free from GBV and harmful practices by 2030.
Domestic violence cases are high in Zimbabwe, particularly sexual offences against women, according to MunyaradziTundu, a senior officer in the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
The strategy sets out priority areas for the country and outlines specific actions and strategies for a multi-sectoral approach to prevent and respond to GBV in general and violence against women and girls in particular, the ministry said.
Implementation of the strategy is intended to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal number five on gender equality and the country's quest to become an upper-middle income society by 2030, it said.
According to the ministry, the high GBV prevalence in the country is exacerbated by the high number of child marriages, insufficient implementation of GBV-related laws and policies, inadequate funding of the GBV national response, harmful cultural practices, entrenched patriarchal norms and values and lack of economic security among women, among other factors.
Source: Xinhua