Munyaradzi Blessing Doma
Everyone has a role to play in preventing intimate partner violence, supporting survivors and building safer homes and communities, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission has said.
ZGC Chairperson Dr Leslie Ncube made the call during the launch of a 90-day National Campaign Against Intimate Partner Violence, running from October to December 2026.
Ncube said tackling IPV could not be left to Government, police, civil society organisations or survivors alone, but required action from families, communities, religious and traditional leaders, workplaces and individuals.
The campaign comes as concerns grow over violence within intimate relationships, with some cases resulting in deaths.
According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, 13 838 cases of sexual offences and aggravated domestic violence were recorded nationally in 2024.
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The Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2023–2024 also found that 27 percent of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical violence, while nine percent had experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.
Ncube said many cases remained unreported because of fear, stigma, economic dependence, shame, threats and limited access to support services.
“A home should be a place of safety, dignity, love and respect, not a place of fear,” he said.
The campaign will focus on prevention, early identification of warning signs, healthy relationships, peaceful conflict resolution, reporting and survivor support.
It will also involve men and boys, religious and traditional leaders, workplaces and communities in challenging harmful norms and promoting peaceful homes.
Ncube said women and girls continued to bear a disproportionate burden of gender-based violence, but men and boys could also be affected and should have access to protection, justice and support.
The campaign supports Zimbabwe’s 2030 goal of ending sexual violence, child marriage and IPV.
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