Violence against women up more than 100%

The women's rights group, Musasa Project said that the number of women who were counselled at the centre this year shot up from about 700 last year to 1 851 this year. In a report, the organisation's regional manager for Bulawayo, Ms Lindile Ndebele, said the country needed to redouble its efforts to curb the abuse of women.

"We understand that we are in a patriarchal society, but women also need to be respected and treated as human beings. This will give them confidence to become key contributors in their families' and the country's economic growth. In this vein, I call for stiffer penalties to unrepentant perpetrators of abuse. I also call on stakeholders to intensify efforts to spread awareness about the evils of spouse bashing and other forms of abuse against women," said Ms Ndebele.

For the first time, cases of physical abuse went down, to be replaced on the number one slot by the equally damaging emotional abuse. It also showed that women in the 20 to 29 age group were the most affected as 510 of them were counselled. The 30 to 39 age group had 424 victims; there were 304 traumatised women in the 40 to 49 age group while 280 women in the more than 50 years group were counselled. A total of 63 teenagers aged between 15 and 19 years were counselled as well.

She said the most common form of abuse suffered by the victims, mostly of domestic violence, was psychological or emotional. "About 52 percent of the women we counselled suffered from emotional abuse. This can be the worst form of abuse because it affects all aspects of a person's life and may cause chronic illnesses like high blood pressure. The victim will be living in perpetual misery as she will always be thinking about the problem," said Ms Ndebele.

She said about 32 percent of the victims were subjected to economical abuse, where their spouses deprived them of money to acquire basic needs.
"The cases of physical abuse decreased drastically to only 10 percent of the counselled victims. This may mean that men are now more aware that it is bad to beat up their wives. It may also be reduced by the increased number of protection orders that women have started seeking against abusive men. The men have, however, started subjecting the women to emotional abuse, by denying them attention or ignoring them at home," said Ms Ndebele.

She said three percent of the victims were stressed because they had acquired HIV from their spouses.
Ms Ndebele said another three percent, especially among the elderly, were involved in inheritance wrangles with their husbands' relatives, following the deaths of the husbands.
"Two percent were victims of rape, including marital rape. In a majority of cases, the husbands would be known for promiscuity. The women would then refuse to have unprotected sex with them. The men on the other hand, would take it as a sign of disrespect and force them to submit," she said.

Ms Ndebele said Musasa Project, together   with stakeholders, who included the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development, the police and the courts, would continue to fight for women rights until all women were liberated.
"We always say women should never undermine their husbands. They should exist in a state of mutual respect and harmony," said Ms Ndebele.

She said the increase in cases of counselling could mean more women were aware of their rights.
"We were brought up in a culture that women must suffer whatever form of abuse to keep their marriages intact. We are happy to say that the awareness campaigns we have been carrying out seem to be changing that mindset," said Ms Ndebele.

She said only 88 women came for counselling with their spouses.
Ms Ndebele encouraged couples to seek counselling, saying it was among the most effective tool for positive behaviour change.