GBV and COVID-19: A Call for Urgent Action!!

By Brighton Musevenzo (Human Rights and Social Justice Advocate)

Policy documents such as the Maputo Declaration, Beijing Platform for Action, Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women and SDG 5 on Gender Equality are key progress and milestone makers on the journey to gender equality. These documents outline the challenges that women face and how best systems can address such barriers and challenges. Around the world, progress has been realized, breaking the historical boundaries and ‘socially constructed glass ceilings’ with more women getting into leadership positions, national laws on addressing gender inequality and more women and girls completing their education. Acknowledging that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to address the plight of the girl child, the world has made considerable progress.

However, the unprecedented COVID-19 period poses a lot of challenges to the progress in gender equality that has already been realized especially for young women and girls especially in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. Girls of school going age have been lately spending more time in schools. More time at home/communities for the girl child during this period has exposed them to different forms of abuse as has been reported in various media outlets. Zimbabwe has also recorded increased cases of GBV, this is not only a Zimbabwean issue but rather a prevailing world trend that responsible authorities and community leaders should take necessary and appropriate measures to urgently address.

These rising GBV and SGBV cases are more of a systemic issue that needs constant political-will and institutional vigilance to address with urgency. This COVID-19 period witnessed governments, institutions and responsible ministries putting their maximum efforts on COVID response strategies. This is very commendable because it shows urgency and prioritization of the wider spectrum of humanity. However, this focus has neglected other systematic issues that responsible ministries have been working to address throughout the years if not decades.

The fight for equality requires strong community support structures, institutional accountability and judicial efficiency. The strain imposed by the COVID-19 on institutions is very realistic and visible not only in Zimbabwe but around the world. However, institutions need to learn to multi-task now more than ever. Law enforcement officers might have other important national priorities to address but GBV case monitoring and response is equally important.

Human Rights are universal, indivisible, inalienable and dependent, they are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Countries, institutions and societies have a responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill. Access to justice, quality health, quality education and sustainable livelihoods are crucial priority milestones to equity and parity and the ultimate dismantling of the glass ceiling that for centuries has been a huddle to women and girls despite of this unprecedented COVID-19 period that is currently bedeviling the world. Therefore, this author’s recommendation for institutions that work to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is to never lose their focus and mandate in this time of crisis and prioritise their holistic developmental intervention missions as per their purpose at creation.

#SDG5 #GenerationEquality # StaySafe

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #MentorHubAfrica. You can also email me on musevenzob@africau.edu