Traditional And Religious Leaders Challenged To Play Active Role In Preventing GBV

Traditional and religious leaders have been challenged to play an active role in preventing Gender-Based Violence (GBV), such as child marriages.

Speaking on Sunday, 26 November during the national launch of the 16 Days of Activism against GBV at Hauna Growth Point in Mutasa District, Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, said those involved in child marriages should be exposed. She said:

As we mark the beginning of the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, I want to appeal to our traditional leaders and religious leaders to play a pivotal role in the prevention of GBV and harmful practices.

As a society, we must be alert and expose such criminals who are robbing children of their future and ensure that they are brought before the law.

Our Constitution is very clear on who a child is and who can enter marriage, but despite that, we still have young girls who are taken into marriage where they are expected to assume adult roles as brides.

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The Herald reported Mutsvangwa as saying eight discreet safe spaces for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors in Manicaland Province have been established

The Marriages Act Chapter 5:17 outlawed child marriages by setting the age of marriage at 18 and criminalising child marriages.

The minimum mandatory sentencing for convicted rape perpetrators has been set at 15 years.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2019 showed that 34 percent of girls in Zimbabwe are married before the age of 18,.5 percent are married before their 15th birthday and 2 percent of boys in Zimbabwe are married before their 18th birthday.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Zimbabwe experienced a surge in teenage pregnancies and child marriages as a result of the prolonged closure of schools.

More: Pindula News