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The Zimbabwe Association of Church-related Hospitals (ZACH) in collaboration with the National AIDS Council (NAC) is hosting a sensitization workshop for journalists on violence against women (VAW), HIV, as well as violence against girls and young women (VAGYW) with a focus on the implementation of the Start Awareness Support Action (SASA) model.
This is part of ZACH’s SASA Programme support phase. The workshop is running from today (25 March) to tomorrow the 26th of March 2023 at Malwatte Lodges in Marondera.
Addressing journalists during the training, Maxwell Hombiro, the SASA Programme officer said men’s power over women and the community’s silence about it is the root cause of violence against women.
As such, he exhorted media practitioners to demystify harmful and religious as well as cultural practices that fuel the spread of HIV and gender-based violence (GBV) .
“Men’s power over women stands tall among the drivers of HI, VAW, and VAGYW. Thus the SASA program intends to address harmful cultural practices of which most of which are designed to oppress women and thereby exacerbate HIV prevalence. These practices including child marriage also come to mind as we seek to make appropriate interventions,” Hombiro said.
A case study was given whereby in Mashonaland Central, the apostolic sect members influence their children to go to the mountains for prayer. It was noted that the Bible was misinterpreted to say it was okayed in the Bible to divorce a spouse, particularly a woman caught in adultery.
The issue of the practice of appeasing avenging spirits using women is also perpetrating gender-based violence. Traditional and customary laws criminalizing polygamy by women exacerbate GBV. A woman from Dema with 3 husbands was fined at the traditional leadership court.
Spousal separation is also a key driver of HIV. To bring this into perspective, a man working in urban areas is allowed by tradition to have girlfriends. When a woman in the village makes love with house helpers and garden boys, they are often chastised. The treatment is not fair.
Vincent Chaeruka, the ZACH Programme Officer alluded to the National AIDS Trust Fund which is meant to implement health initiatives across the country, particularly in addressing HIV.
He revealed that ZACH is operating in Masvingo District’s 10 wards which are GBV and HIV hotspots. It is also in Umzingwane District’s 10 wards.
“We have a one-stop-centre at Esigodini District Hospital where we have a lawyer from ZWLA giving legal services. There is also the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) team where we have a nurse giving services to survivors of SGB. In Umguza District, we are situated at Nyamandhlovu. In Kwekwe, we are in 10 wards and have one-stop centre. We have the same number of wards in Chimanimani district.
“We also run SASA programs in Bindura and Masvingo where we are referring clients to one-stop centres by other partners. We are Implementing the SASA model – a gender transformative prevention strategy implemented in Uganda for several decades,” Chaeruka said.
Stakeholders were encouraged to advocate and influence policy shifts, amendments, or reviews regarding efforts aimed at achieving a gender-equal society. This can be achieved through local activism, media, and advocacy using various channels and friendly language to survivors and avoiding language that is incriminating. They were also encouraged to break the community silence about SGBV.