News / National
Zim women want harder sentences on rapists
01 Jan 2013 at 16:44hrs | Views
Women have condemned the year 2012 as the worst saying it witnessed the perpetration of numerous cases of gender based violence and sexual offences against them and the girl child.
The chairperson of the Women's Parliamentary Caucus, Beatrice Nyamupinga, said it was disheartening to note that as Parliament they had failed to lobby for the mandatory punitive sentencing of rapists and child molesters which is one of the reasons why there is an increase in the violation of women's rights.
"The year 2012 goes down as one of the darkest years in the lives of women as we witnessed a lot of cases of abuse against them, some shockingly to minors.
She said, "We also are concerned about the sentences being meted out to offenders where we have seen that perpetrators of stock-theft get more stringent sentences than rapists and child molesters.
"In the year 2013, we will strongly push for Parliamentary resolve to have this situation redressed."
She however added that 2012 in retrospect had produced positive results particulary during the ongoing constitution making exercise which saw most of their aspirations being well articulated and covered in the draft.
"As women, we are satisfied with the outcome of the draft constitution as most of our aspirations were covered and are included.
"We hope the whole process running up to the elections will remain peaceful and that no violence against women is perpetrated."
During this year's commemorations of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence which ran under the theme, "From Peace in The Home to Peace in The World, Let's Challenge Militarism and Violence Against Women," it emerged that gender-based violence affects one in every three women in Zimbabwe.
While statistics also show that even though there is a spirited fight by government, women's pressure groups, and NGO's, gender-based violence remains on the increase with sixty percent of the murder cases brought before the High Court coming as a direct result of domestic violence.
The chairperson of the Women's Parliamentary Caucus, Beatrice Nyamupinga, said it was disheartening to note that as Parliament they had failed to lobby for the mandatory punitive sentencing of rapists and child molesters which is one of the reasons why there is an increase in the violation of women's rights.
"The year 2012 goes down as one of the darkest years in the lives of women as we witnessed a lot of cases of abuse against them, some shockingly to minors.
She said, "We also are concerned about the sentences being meted out to offenders where we have seen that perpetrators of stock-theft get more stringent sentences than rapists and child molesters.
"In the year 2013, we will strongly push for Parliamentary resolve to have this situation redressed."
She however added that 2012 in retrospect had produced positive results particulary during the ongoing constitution making exercise which saw most of their aspirations being well articulated and covered in the draft.
"As women, we are satisfied with the outcome of the draft constitution as most of our aspirations were covered and are included.
"We hope the whole process running up to the elections will remain peaceful and that no violence against women is perpetrated."
During this year's commemorations of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence which ran under the theme, "From Peace in The Home to Peace in The World, Let's Challenge Militarism and Violence Against Women," it emerged that gender-based violence affects one in every three women in Zimbabwe.
While statistics also show that even though there is a spirited fight by government, women's pressure groups, and NGO's, gender-based violence remains on the increase with sixty percent of the murder cases brought before the High Court coming as a direct result of domestic violence.
Source - zbc
