lt gives me great pleasure to present the National Gender Based Violence Strategy (2012- 2015) which is a commitment of the Government of Zimbabwe to eradicate Gender Based Violence and promote Gender Equality. Zimbabwe ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1991, the Protocol to The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in 2007 and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development in 2009.
These instruments call upon member countries to implement strategies aimed at eradicating Gender Based Violence, which has become a social ill in our communities and hinders sustainable development.
One of the major milestones in our fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) was the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in 2007 and the subsequent establishment of the Anti-Domestic Violence Council.
To compliment Government efforts, a number of non-governmental organizations are working on raising awareness on gender based violence and providing services to survivors. However, the needs of many survivors remain unmet and prevention efforts are diminished due to limited resources and coordination among the various actors.
lt is against this background that my Ministry, has developed the National Gender Based Violence Strategy (2012- 2015) which seeks to improve the efforts of Government, Civil Society and development partners to prevent and respond to GBV through a multi-sectoral, effective and coordinated response. This Strategy was drawn up following extensive consultations with key stakeholders. lt explains the extent to which policy makers, development partners and implementing agencies can tap their respective comparative advantage towards efforts aimed at reducing GBV. The National Gender Based Violence Strategy (2012- 2015) provides a good foundation for rights based programming, one vision, one strategic framework, one monitoring and evaluation framework and one coordination mechanism. The Strategy is anchored on four Key Result Areas, namely;
(a) Prevention
(b) Service Provision
(c) Research, Documentation, Monitoring & Evaluation
(d) Coordination.
The Ministry will operationalise the Strategy through the 4Ps Campaign on zero tolerance to GBV. The 4Ps focus on Prevention, Protection, Programmes and Participation. The Ministry would like to extend its sincere gratitude to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for providing technical support and funding for the production of this Strategy document.
Dr. Olivia N. Muchena (MP)
Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development