ZGC Launches 90 Day Fight Against Intimate Partner Violence

THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has launched a 90-day national campaign against intimate partner violence (IPV), sounding the alarm over domestic disputes increasingly spilling into serious injury and death across the country.

Running from October to December, the campaign will push prevention and early intervention to the centre of the national response as authorities grapple with physical, sexual and emotional violence occurring within intimate relationships.

ZGC chairperson Dr Leslie Ncube announced the initiative in Harare on Friday, saying the Commission was particularly troubled by fatal domestic disputes and wanted Zimbabwe to move away from intervening only after violence had already occurred.

“A home should be a place of safety, dignity, love and respect, not a place of fear,” Dr Ncube said.

“Intimate partner violence cannot be dismissed as a private family matter. It is a human rights, gender equality, social and development concern that requires a coordinated national response.”

The Commission cited Zimbabwe Republic Police statistics showing that at least 13 838 cases of sexual offences and aggravated domestic violence were recorded nationally in 2024.

Ncube also pointed to the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2023–2024, which found that 27 percent of women aged between 15 and 49 had experienced physical violence, while nine percent had experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

But the official figures may tell only part of the story.

Ncube said fear, stigma, economic dependence, threats, shame and pressure to preserve relationships could leave many incidents behind closed doors and outside official statistics.

“Behind every reported case there may be many more incidents that remain hidden because of fear, stigma, economic dependence, shame, threats, social pressure, lack of information, concerns about family breakdown or limited access to support services,” he said.

The Commission said the reported cases in which domestic disputes had ended in death strengthened the case for intervention before conflict reaches crisis point.

“The Commission is deeply concerned by the increasing number of reported cases of fatal domestic disputes,” Dr Ncube said.

“These incidents underscore the urgent need for strengthened early intervention, prevention and coordinated national response mechanisms to prevent domestic conflicts from escalating into violence and loss of life.”

It is against that background that the Commission is rolling out the three-month campaign, which will culminate in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Rather than concentrating exclusively on the aftermath of abuse, ZGC wants the programme to open conversations around warning signs, healthy relationships, mental health, peaceful conflict resolution, reporting mechanisms and survivor support.

The campaign will also put greater pressure on institutions to account for the effectiveness of systems designed to protect survivors.

“The campaign seeks to move the national conversation beyond responding to violence after it occurs towards prevention, early identification of warning signs, mental health dialogue, healthy relationships, peaceful conflict resolution, reporting, survivor support and institutional accountability,” Dr Ncube said.

Five areas will anchor the programme public awareness and sensitisation, Government and institutional engagement, involving men and boys in prevention, working with faith and traditional leaders to promote peaceful homes, and creating supportive and safe workplaces.

ZGC intends to bring Government, civil society, development partners, businesses, communities, the media and religious and traditional leaders into the campaign.

Men and boys will be specifically targeted as partners in preventing violence and promoting respectful relationships.

Ncube said workplaces must also recognise that IPV does not necessarily end when a survivor leaves home for work, urging employers to establish mechanisms through which affected employees can safely seek assistance and referrals.

Faith and traditional leaders, meanwhile, are being challenged to confront harmful social norms and use their influence to promote non-violent conflict resolution within families.

The Commission also called on communities to stop looking away when warning signs of domestic violence emerge and to report cases in line with the Domestic Violence Act.

“Ending intimate partner violence cannot be left to the Police, Government, the Commission, civil society or survivors alone,” the ZGC Chairman said.

“Everyone has a role to play in preventing violence, supporting survivors and building peaceful homes and safe communities.”

The initiative feeds into Zimbabwe’s wider commitments under the High-Level Political Compact to End Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practices in Zimbabwe 2021–2030 and the National Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence 2023–2030.

The roadmap envisages the eradication of sexual violence, child marriage and IPV by 2030, with operational targets that include reducing the national prevalence of gender-based and intimate partner violence by at least 20 to 30 percent.

Another major objective is to progressively shift the financing of the response away from heavy donor dependence towards greater domestic funding through gender-responsive budgeting.

For Ncube, however, legislation, policies and institutions must ultimately translate into safer relationships and homes.

“We must recognise the warning signs early. We must speak up when violence occurs. We must support survivors regardless of their gender. We must challenge harmful norms. We must promote mutually respectful relationships,” he said.

“A peaceful home creates a safer family. Safer families create safer communities. Safer communities contribute to a stronger and more prosperous Zimbabwe.”

The Commission is now calling on Zimbabweans to carry that message through the next 90 days, from homes and schools to workplaces, churches and communities under a simple rallying call:

“No to intimate partner violence. Yes to love that respects. Yes to peaceful homes.”