POLICE in Bulawayo have escalated the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) in collaboration with local churches.
The police and churches in Bulawayo on Saturday launched a champaign where they hosted scores of residents for worship and education on the eradication of GBV at Drill Hall.
The main speaker was officer commanding Bulawayo province Commissioner Jasper Chizemo,who said GBV also affected men.
“Violence commonly affects women and girls but men and boys are not spared. Thus it is prudent that I set the record straight on the understanding of gender-based violence,” he said.
“The common GBV cases we deal with in our day-to-day duties as law enforcement agents include rape, domestic violence and in worst case scenarios child marriages or forced marriages attributed to cultural beliefs.
“Investigations have shown that in most cases GBV is because of social norms and cultural backgrounds that support male dominance while justifying violence against women.”
Chizemo also cited factors such as economic dependency as having a role in one bearing the brunt of abuse.
Locate Ncube, a member of Christ Embassy Church, which was sponsoring the event, applauded the men who turned up.
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“As you can see there are a lot of men, we came from a society where the girl child was told and groomed on what’s expected of her as she grew.
“The boy child is neglected, but the message I’m sending to them is that they are the head of the family. The lady comes as the neck to support the head so that society moves forward smoothly.
“So for change to take place in our nation, Africa and the whole world, it has to start with men. We are coming to a society where boys have to be taught how to treat women.”
The event was hosted by acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, Bishop Sarah Nyathi and human rights lawyer Prisca Dube.
