One-stop centres renew hopes of GBV survivors

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Health Buzz

A quiet discussion unfolds at a rural assembly point in Mahlabathini, Bubi District.

Men and women, their faces etched with the weight of community issues, gather to address a pressing concern of gender-based violence (GBV).

While opinions diverge, they share a common understanding; the urgent need to tackle the root causes of this pervasive problem.

Mahlabathini is one of many Zimbabwean rural communities undergoing a transformative shift in the fight against GBV through mobile one-stop centres being deployed in hard-to-reach areas.

The mobile one stop centres are being implemented through the Women at the Centre programme, a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Takeda — a Japanese pharmaceutical company to bridge the gap in access to essential GBV services.

Ms Florence Ndlovu, a survivor of domestic abuse, recounts how the one-stop centre helped her regain control of her life.

“I endured years of abuse from my husband who would use anything available to him to assault me, including a machete. When I gathered the courage to leave, I left my children in the custody of my mother but he went there and forcibly took them.

“He has threatened to harm my mother and anyone who tries to take the children. When the mobile one-stop centre came a few weeks back, I attended and received counselling. I have also received money for transport so that I can travel to Inyathi and the lawyers can assist me with the court processes for me to regain custody of my children,” she said.

For her, the mobile one-stop centre was the only place she could have accessed these services. It was her only hope.

The same can be said for Ms Lindokuhle Khumalo from Village 4, who is suing her husband for maintenance after he stopped taking care of his family.

“I left my husband because he was abusive to me and the children. I only got help to face my problem head on when I heard about the mobile one-stop centre. I received counselling services and next week, I will visit the courts in Inyathi to apply for maintenance from him because he no longer takes care of his children,” she said.

The mobile one-stop centres are offering a comprehensive package of services, including medical treatment for physical and emotional trauma, counselling, legal assistance that includes justice and protection services as well as economic empowerment opportunities.

These centres are also fostering community engagement, bringing together men and women to openly discuss the underlying issues driving GBV. Traditional leaders are also actively participating in these dialogues, reinforcing the importance of addressing GBV at the community level.

Mr Raphael Moyo Mhlanga, the village head in Emasimini Crescent that covers four villages said the initiative was making their job easier.

“This programme will go a long way in addressing some of the challenges we are facing as a community. Every month, I call for a village assembly where we discuss the very same issues that we would have discussed during the mobile one stop centre meetings.

“This helps us to then identify those culprits who might be protecting perpetrators of SGBV (sexual and gender-based violence). As traditional leaders, we always push for people to report any cases so that the law can take its course. We refer most cases to the police but as leaders we then come in to create a dialogue between the parties so that our people can live in peace.”

According to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey, at least one in three women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence, while about 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence, since the age of 15.

Nearly 50 percent of Zimbabwean women have experienced either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, and one in three of these women have experienced physical or sexual violence before the age of 18.

In 2022 alone, over 33 000 cases of GBV were reported across the country.

Ms Magdalene Chavunduka from the UNFPA Zimbabwe Country Office said the decision to pilot the Women at the Centre project in Bubi was a result of a baseline survey which showed that there was a high number of women in the area who were vulnerable to GBV.

“Bubi is a hard-to-reach district with high cases of gender-based violence. It is a mining district, and we have artisanal mining that is happening here in the district. A lot is happening; women travel long distances to access services, there are high rates of child marriages, teen pregnancies are happening. So we felt that it was ideal to identify this district to pilot the programme,” she said.

UNFPA is working with Musasa and World Vision to implement the project.

World Vision is working on safe spaces where they are encouraging women to come together to share their stories and ideas on how they can overcome the challenges they face.

“The safe spaces also have economic empowerment activities there because we understand that some of these issues that cause gender-based violence are economic issues. Musasa is encouraging issues around service provision, they are working on inclusive services. They are going right into the woods, deep into the communities, offering services, comprehensive packages of services for the women and girls in the communities,” said Ms Chavhunduka.

In implementing the one stop centres, Musasa is also generating demand for GBV services within the mobile and static sites and the safe shelters

Musasa regional manager, Ms Angelina Munangwa, said integrated service delivery was key to ending the GBV scourge.

She said the information sharing platform allowed communities to share information on SGBV, the services they could access, and to clear some of the misconceptions around SGBV.

“The Women at the Centre Project has been helpful to the community because, for obvious reasons, we have seen women having difficulties or mobility challenges to access the services at the centre. So by taking the services to the people, we have seen how well they have responded to the mobilisation,” she said.

As Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to tackle the vice during the 16 days of activism against GBV, the mobile one-stop centres serve as a beacon of hope, demonstrating the impact of innovative solutions and collaborative efforts.