Youth domestic violence on the rise

The National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) held a peace circle with young women in Pumula North, Bulawayo where they spoke out about the rising levels of domestic violence and Gender Based Violence (GBV) in their community. They felt that the rise was most noticeable in youth relationships; a shift from the past where domestic violence was mostly associated with the older generation.

 

Jacqueline Ndlovu, the ward 9 youth councilor, highlighted that the rise of domestic violence amongst youths could be attributed to the socio-economic issues affecting them. She said that unemployment and poverty are the major destabilisers of youth relationships.

“The rise in domestic violence can be linked to the high unemployment levels as well as the extreme poverty faced by young people in Zimbabwe,” said Ndlovu. “When a couple is experiencing financial difficulties, they are faced with various pressures which put a strain on their relationship subsequently leading to conflict,” she said.

On a daily basis, reports on domestic violence flood the media. Statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics office show that between 2012 and the first quarter of 2014 approximately 11 000 women and girls were victims of either domestic violence, rape or other forms of abuse. However, this figure is said to be more as most cases go unreported.

Patience Mahlangu, a young woman from Pumula North, concurred with the above assertion. She told the meeting that it was difficult for victims in their community to report cases of domestic violence as such cases are viewed as minor needing little police intervention.

“Most people do not report cases of domestic violence because police treat these as minor issues which should be discussed by the affected parties in the privacy of their homes,” said Mahlangu. “Additionally, reporting your partner to the police may at times exacerbate the situation as the victim may be further victimized for taking the matter to the police,” she said.

Furthermore, the young women felt that police corruption is one of the major problems that lead to a high number of cases going unreported. They said that some police officers often accept bribes from perpetrators of violence who are set free despite the severity of their crimes.

“The police in Pumula spend most of their time at the shopping centre playing snooker instead of being at the police station where victims of crimes can go and report cases,” said one young woman (name withheld). “Victims of crime have to go to the shopping center to report cases which are sometimes too sensitive to discuss in public areas,” she said.

Laws and policies such as the Domestic Violence Act and Sexual Offences Act have been put in place to eradicate this societal decadence yet not much has been done in tackling gender-based violence. The young women argued that firm action from the police was needed in order for the laws to be effective. They also said there was need for communities to be educated on gender based violence and on the steps to follow when one is faced with a domestic violence case.

The young women were advised to visit the Victim friendly unit, a section of the police that is trained to deal with victims of GBV, when faced with domestic violence or any other forms of GBV.

Peace circles are platforms provided by the National Youth Development Trust for young women to freely express themselves and to associate with each other. It is hoped that through these platforms, the organization will be able to develop the capacities of young females before integrating them into platforms that will involve their interaction and engagement with their male counterparts.

Listen to us; Councillor told

Lupane youths castigated their councilor, Japhet  Mpofu, for turning a blind eye on youth issues despite giving their recommendations to council. This came to light at a public accountability meeting held by the National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) in Masenyane.

Young people felt that it was pointless to convene meetings to discuss priorities for 2015 because the council has in the past failed to action the recommendations from young people.

“We are always called to meetings and asked for our views, but what is common is that young people are often not welcome at these meetings and most often than not older people’s contributions take precedence over ours,” said Delani Nyoni . “During the last consultative meeting we attended we requested that a youth center be built in the ward, but a dip tank was prioritized in place of that,” he said. 

Young people in most of NYDT’s project areas have cited cultural factors as the major obstacle to their participation in budget consultative meetings and other community platforms. The patriarchal nature of Zimbabwe’s society has contributed to young people being shut out from the public sphere as they are not allowed to speak in the presence of adults.

The councillor Mpofu told young people that their requests were a priority; however actioning these requests takes time as the Kusile Rural District Council (KRDC) is largely depended on donor funds to carry out development projects.

“Unlike in the cities we do not collect as much revenue, as such the KRDC has very little money to use to develop Lupane,” said Mpofu. “We therefore are undertaking projects one at a time. It does not mean one project is more important than the other.”

The councilor further told young people not to despair contributing in meetings as their needs would eventually be addressed despite the long time frame in between.

During the meeting, young people got a chance to identify key issues to be included in the 2015 KRDC budget. Amongst the issues, young people felt that there was need for the KRDC to set aside a fund for incoming generation projects for young people.Most young people in Lupane are unemployed and as such they feel that income generating projects will help them sustain a living. They lamented that the timber rich area has not created any jobs for them as such they need alternatives that will contribute to their livelihoods.

“Most of us young people are not employed, therefore we need a fund for income generating projects,” said Brighton Mgayo. “Some of us tried to chop and sell firewood so that we make a living, but our efforts soon came to naught as the Environment Management Agency (EMA) came with laws to be followed which are quite stiff for us young people who cannot afford to pay for licenses,” he said. 

The young women present at the meeting felt that the building of a clinic at Mthanyelwana should be prioritized because they cannot afford to travel long distances. They said there was need to have health facilities located within walking distance from community members. 

The councilor advised young people to form a committee which would be responsible for pushing youth issues to community leaders. He also pledged to take young people’s issues further.