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Others have said the many faces of poverty have resulted in an increase in domestic violence cases because of the stress that comes with never having enough.
Some are of the view that domestic violence is not one sided as many may think, some men are also victims of domestic violence.
Whichever side or explanation one may give, domestic violence is a societal thorn that has pricked many families leaving deep marks difficult to heal.
In some cases women have lost their lives as a result of domestic violence perpetrated on them by their partners.

Just two weeks ago, at least seven people were killed by their partners in separate incidents in 149 cases of domestic violence recorded countrywide. The deaths were recorded in Bulawayo, Zhombe, Murehwa, Seke, Mutoko, Bindura and Siyabuwa in Matabeleland North Province. According to chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena of the 149 recorded cases, 143 were committed by men and only six by women.

With seven people dying as a result of domestic violence in a single week, there have been more calls for deterrent measures and addressing of the root causes. For some victims domestic violence has become a lost war. But activists believe the war can be won if the country works together to fight this enemy.
Women’s Coalition chairperson and director of the Humanitarian Information Facility Centre (HIFC) Mrs Virginia Muwanigwa said it is disheartening that such high statistics continue to be recorded at a time the country has the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) in place.

She attributed the high statistics to mindsets which continue to condone domestic violence as a normal cultural tradition and this begins at the family and household level and the community.

Mrs Muwanigwa pointed out the lack of or insufficient knowledge of the DVA as another contributing factor to the continued increase.
She said insufficient mechanisms to make the Act operational, e.g. lack of stationery to translate its principles into reality for the majority of women and men has been another setback.

“Lack of or insufficient political will among law enforcement agents and other stakeholders to enforce the Act and finally, impunity where some perpetrators are not punished as this removes the deterrent nature of the Act, also contribute to the high statistics,” she said.

While Zimbabwe adopted the 4Ps campaign on zero tolerance on domestic violence during the 16 Days of Activism last year that resulted in extensive awareness being raised through different means it is sad that the message could have fallen on deaf ears. The 4Ps include prevention, protection, partnerships and programming.

Mrs Muwanigwa pointed out that it might take a longer period to notice the impact of the 4Ps campaign.
“Domestic violence is a social phenomenon steeped in many years of accepting and condoning it as a norm in tradition. The results of the campaign against domestic violence will therefore take longer to manifest as this requires deconstruction of the values, attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate domestic violence as a behaviour,” said Mrs Muwanigwa.

The problematic social factors, she said, include patriarchal values, attitudes and beliefs that give men lots of power over women; that make it permissible to commit domestic violence with impunity; that prohibit women and the few men who are battered from seeking justice and relief due to socialisation; and external factors such as economic and other challenges which result in people using violence as a relief valve.

She suggested concerted and continuous awareness raising of the Act, but more importantly, campaign against the practice of domestic violence should this societal thorn be removed.

She also suggested more lobbying and advocacy for a domestic violence-free society and practical measures to ensure that the Act is enforced.
Of importance, she added, is confidence and consciousness building among survivors to use their right to seek justice.

Mrs Muwanigwa said based on research findings that domestic violence increases with violence at the national level, it is important for the campaign against violence at national level to be taken very seriously.

Social worker Mr Musekiwa Makwanya said domestic violence statistics will continue to be on the rise because there is no deterrence at the law enforcement levels in a society where there is a culture of violence.

“Violence is learned behaviour so people simple have to unlearn it,” he said.
He said the challenge is that while campaigns denouncing domestic violence have been carried out, people should understand that domestic violence is wrong.

“In some cases the violent ones are not reached in the remote areas such as Zhombe. Our police force and courts do not appear to have adopted a zero tolerance in respect of domestic violence.

“In fact, some of our police personnel have been brought up in cultures of domestic violence and they mirror the society, so when cases are reported by women they are treated lightly and sometimes negotiated,” he bemoaned.
According to Mr Makwanya, domestic violence is still deep rooted in social issues.

“There are some complex issues especially for married women because if the perpetrator is a breadwinner providing for children then we are likely to see inaction and lack of co-operation on the part of the women. Men understand their advantage in such cases, but even some employed women stay in violent relationships because there is a view that their violent partners or spouses will change,” he complained.

He also said society also tends to punish those who divorce especially women who are expected in some cultures stay in these difficult relationships, sometimes for fear of embarrassment.
“Quite often, these violent relationships are preceded by colourful weddings witnessed by relatives who also have a hidden stake in some of these relationships,” he added.

He proposed that a lot still needs to be done to change the mindsets of society.
“If we agreed that violence is a culture it means we need to change the culture and usually there is a repertoire of measures required at family level, leadership level and statutory level,” he said.

The police are also worried by the increase.
Snr Asst Comm Bvudzijena last week expressed concern over the loss of lives as a result of domestic violence.“Such cases can be avoided if people could go for counselling whenever they have differences,” he said.

There were 124 cases of domestic violence recorded early in June. In February, nine out of 24 murder cases recorded countrywide that month were as a result of domestic-related disputes, police said.

Some of the cases were attributed to infidelity while others were the result of longstanding disputes. Cases of domestic violence throughout the country remain high despite several interventions to stop perpetrators from committing them, a recent national survey also revealed.
The most common perpetrator of domestic violence, especially against women, has been identified as the current or former husband or partner. According to the

2010-11 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency recently, 30 percent of women have experienced physical violence at some point since the age of 15.

Of these women, 18 percent experienced physical violence within the past 12 months. It was also noted that 22 percent of women who have had sexual intercourse reported that their first experience was forced against their will. The report further noted that 27 percent of women interviewed in the survey reported that they have experienced sexual violence and in nine out of 10 cases, the act was perpetrated by current or former husband, partner or boyfriend.

Sadly, only 37 percent of women who experienced physical or sexual violence have sought help.
Most of the women turned to family (58 percent), in-laws (36 percent) and friends or neighbours (13 percent) for assistance. “Despite the new legislation and ongoing efforts to protect women and vulnerable populations against violence, there is widespread recognition in Zimbabwe that much remains to be done to protect victims,” reads part of the report. Zimbabwe enacted the Domestic Violence Act in 2006 for the protection and relief of victims of domestic violence.

According to the World Health Organisation, domestic violence is intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual against oneself, another person or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation. According to ZDHS there has been a slight decrease of women who reported experience of spousal physical or sexual violence from 31 percent in the 2005-06 ZDHS to 29 percent in this survey.

Declines were also observed in the past 12 months in spousal physical violence from 25 to 22 percent and spousal physical and sexual violence from 9 to 6 percent.
However, the data suggest that women’s experience of spousal sexual violence has not declined. Instead, it has increased from 13 to 14 percent. “These findings together suggest that that much work remains to be done if women are to be protected against all forms of violence,” reads the report.

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