Women Affairs, Community and Smes Development Committee Chairperson, Hon Chido Madiwa (Mutasa North ZANU PF) on Tuesday tabled a report in Parliament to ascertain the level of service delivery to survivors of Gender Based Violence by the Government at safe shelters and One Stop Centres, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The specific objectives of the inquiry that was conducted in the country’s five provinces included:
- To ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of GBV services;
- To assess state of service delivery at safe houses and one-stop centres focusing on availability of services, accessibility, staff, infrastructure, essential equipment, and follow-up, and
- To ascertain Government adherence to the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act in combating gender based violence.
The Committee visited Gwanda One-Stop Center, Bulawayo Msasa Safe Shelter, Gweru One-Stop Center, Gweru Msasa Safe Shelter, Masvingo Nemamwa One-Stop Center, Bikita Msasa Safe Shelter, Marange Msasa Safe Shelter, Makoni One-Stop Center, Harare, Msasa One-Stop Center and Safe House. In her report, Hon Madiwa said that GBV is a scourge that all stakeholders need to take collaborative efforts to eradicate in society adding that lawmakers should come up with legislation that is deterrent enough to deal with perpetrators. In addition, Hon Madiwa emphasised that enactment of a gender equality law will go a long way in addressing most of the challenges highlighted in the report.
