As Zimbabwe’s 2013 Elections Approach: A Call for an End to Torture

Photo Accredited to Sokwanele

The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was created by the United Nations to end torture and raise awareness of an international convention, which went into effect on June 26, 1987 after it had been ratified by 20 states.

In support of victims of torture around the world, this year’s theme honors the “Right to Rehabilitation,” assured in Article 14 of the Convention Against Torture.  This right entitles survivors to long-term holistic medical, psychological, legal and social services.  Access to these resources is vital to healing the lives of those who have suffered and ensuring their safety and inclusion in society.  To truly restore hope to the victims of torture, this year’s focus on rehabilitation must be more than a slogan, but honored with concrete actions to guarantee these rights are implemented. 

As the world observes this day of solidarity, I pause to reflect on the Zimbabwean 2008 elections when human rights activists and opposition supporters were targeted and tortured for their political affiliation.  I believe the year will be remembered by many as the darkest year in the history of Zimbabwe since independence.

I was present in Zimbabwe during that fateful year and watched powerlessly as my fellow human beings were subjected to some of the most degrading treatments.  Examples of these abuses were reported by international media like  Dateline,  an Australian current affairs news program.  Some supporters of the opposition party were held at a torture camp known as Matapi Base in Mbare—a township on the outskirts of Harare—where they endured beatings on a daily basis.  There were 328 cases of torture alone by August of that year.  The wave of violence that engulfed the country left many with permanent physical and psychological scars.

Those who lived to tell the stories of their ordeals were left in a state of constant fear due to intimidation from their victimizers. Many among the victims are yet to find rehabilitation for the abuses they were subjected to.

In the following video produced by WITNESS and our partner in Zimbabwe, Research and Advocacy Unit, one survivor tells her story of the sexually based violence she and many other women and girls endured in the last election.  Targeted and raped for her political activism, her struggle to cope with the trauma of her experience stresses the urgency of focusing on rehabilitation for victims and their families.

We can no longer afford to stay quiet when our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters are faced with uncertainty.  As Zimbabwe prepares for the next election in August, we must stand in solidarity with them by persuading decision makers (both local and international) to put necessary mechanisms in place that will ensure survivors’ right to rehabilitation and to elections free from torture.

This Blog is reposted from the witness website, the original can be found on

http://blog.witness.org/2013/06/as-zimbabwes-2013-elections-approach-a-call-for-the-end-to-torture/

What is Election Violence?

This seems a rather stupid question to ask, and especially in Zimbabwe where we talk about this endlessly. However, this is not a trivial question, and we remember 2008 and 2002 more clearly than we do 2005. Simply put, is the killing, beating, and raping of citizens worse from the point of elections than the threatening, terrifying, and starving of the them? It all depends on the purpose and the consequence.

 

If the consequence is to change the result of the vote and hence who governs, then surely both are equivalent as regards the final result: that those who use either strategy subvert the real purpose of elections? Which is what? Surely that the citizens can ensure, freely, that those that govern have the mandate to govern?

 

So, we need to be very clear, when we talk about elections, and we talk about election violence, that we are clear about what this is. So, when killing, beating, and raping do not happen, but threatening, terrifying, and starving does, we are certain that election violence still happened. We need no repeats of 2008 and 2002, or  even 2005!

 

So what do we mean when we talk about election violence? Consider this definition:

 

…Acts or threats of coercion, intimidation, or physical harm perpetrated to affect an

electoral process or that arises in the context of electoral competition. When

perpetrated to affect an electoral process, violence may be employed to influence the process of elections – such as efforts to delay, disrupt, or derail a poll – and to influence the outcomes: the determining of winners in competitive races for political office or to secure approval or disapproval of referendum questions.

 

As Timothy Sisk points out above this is considerably broader than the presence of physical violence: it is the range of activities aimed at subverting the will of ordinary citizens to freely exercise their choice[1].

 

Electoral violence is a sub-type of political violence in which actors employ coercion in an

instrumental way to advance their interests or achieve specific political ends. Similarly,

societies prone to experiencing election-related violence are normally vulnerable to

broader kinds of political violence; Kosovo, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, or

Colombia are examples of instances in which electoral violence is embedded in a

broader, often ongoing context of deep-rooted social conflict.

 

Electoral violence includes acts, such as assassination of opponents or spontaneous

fisticuffs between rival groups of supporters and threats, coercion, and intimidation of

opponents, voters, or election officials. Threat and intimidation is a form of coercion

that is just as powerful as acts of violence can be. Indeed, one purpose of acts of

terrorism such as tossing a grenade into a crowd of rival supporters is an act

diabolically designed to induce fear and to intimidate (e.g., to suppress mobilization or

voting by that group).

 

Violent acts can be targeted against people or things, such as the targeting of

communities or candidates or the deliberate destruction of campaign materials, vehicles,

offices, or ballot boxes.

 

Electoral violence is more than just physical violence: it is the purpose behind violence, and the oscillation between physical violence and psychological violence that enable us to understand this purpose in Zimbabwe. The results of the elections in 2005 can only be understood in the context of the violence of 2002 and 2008. That 2005 was less violent than the two previous elections is not really the point, and it would be useful here if the South African Government would stop contesting the release of the Khampepe/Moseneke report: we could then see the nexus between 2000/2002 and 2005.

 

And, just maybe, SADC would own up to the Principles that it promulgated so piously in 2005, and start to insist that the GPA required constitutional change and reform, then elections, rather than accepting the weak compromise offered by the GNU of constitutional change, then elections and reform. Then maybe the SADC Treaty would be a real, substantive document as opposed to a loose-leaf folder from which pages are removed whenever they are inconvenient! And they are especially inconvenient when elections (and sometimes courts and court decisions) leave the members in potential conflict with each other over who has the right to rule.

---

[1] Sisk, T. D, Elections in Fragile States: Between Voice and Violence. Paper Prepared for The International Studies Association Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California. March 24-28, 2008.

Politically motivated violence against women in Zimbabwe

With the breaking of the news about the AidsFree World submission of a dossier on politically motivated rape to the National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa, it is worth remembering that political violence against women is an unfortunate feature of the electoral landscape in Zimbabwe. It is also worth remembering that this is not merely a matter for history. Simultaneous to the reporting to the AidsFree World action was a report of the arson attack on the Maisiri home in Headlands (and the murder of 12 year old Christpower Maisiri), and the revelation that his mother too had been victim of political rape by Lovemore Manenji in 2008.

RAU, and its various partners, have been raising the spectre of politically motivated violence against women even prior to the 2008 elections, and thus it was gratifying to see the issue being given a national profile last year through the Women and Peace Conference, organized by Musasa, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, HIVOS, and UN Women. There were strong commitments by Government Ministers, UN agencies, international NGOs, and local women’s organisations to stop political violence, sexual violence, and rape of women.

The issue was raised again in 2013 on Valentine’s Day under the umbrella of the One Billion Rising initiative, where women from all walks of life came together at the National Gallery to dance their commitment to ending violence against women.

RAU therefore wishes to draw your attention to the research of several years on the issue of political motivated violence and intimidation of women. Below are a selection of reports that can be obtained by following the links, but other reports can be found on the RAU website:

www.researchandadvocacyunit.org

RAU (2010), Women, Politics and the Zimbabwe Crisis, Report produced by Idasa (An African Democracy Institute), the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), and the Womens’ Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ). May 2010. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=54&Itemid=90]

RAU (2010), Preying on the “Weaker” Sex: Political Violence against Women in Zimbabwe. Report produced by IDASA (An African Democracy Institute), the International Center for Transitional Justice [ICTJ] and the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU].  November 2010. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=96&Itemid=90]

RAU (2010), “When the going gets tough the man gets going!” Zimbabwean Women’s views on Politics, Governance, Political Violence, and Transitional Justice. Report produced by the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU], Idasa [Institute for Democracy in Africa], and the International Center for Transitional Justice [ICTJ]. November 2010. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=54&Itemid=90]

 RAU (2010), No Hiding Place. Politically Motivated Rape of Women in Zimbabwe. Report prepared by the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) and the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR). December 2010. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=170&Itemid=90]

RAU (2011), Women and Law Enforcement in Zimbabwe. Report produced by IDASA (An African Democracy Institute), and the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU). March 2011, HARARE:RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

 

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=97&Itemid=90]

 

RAU (2011), Politically Motivated Rape in Zimbabwe. Report produced for the Women’s Programme of the Research and Advocacy Unit. May 2011. HARARE:RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=102&Itemid=90]

RAU (2011), Women and Political Violence: An Update. July 2011. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=54&Itemid=90]

Elections yet again

There is an inevitable sense of trepidation when elections start to loom in Zimbabwe, especially since 2000. All too often it feels that we merely repeat the same cycle without any evidence of learning from the mistakes of the past. It is for this reason that it is very important to carefully examine the past, and, to this end, RAU would like to emphasize some of its own findings from past elections, particularly 2008.

2008 is important because there were two elections in very quick succession. The first, in March 2008, was very peaceful and well-administered up to the point of the count, when things went very wrong. The second was hardly peaceful and probably the most violent election ever in Zimbabwe, though many have forgotten just how violent the 2002 Presidential election was.

Below are links to a selection or reports that RAU feels are useful guides to thinking about 2013. Other reports can be found on the RAU website which is: www.researchandadvocacyunit.org

An edited selection of the more important reports was produced by Derek Matyszak for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and this can be found by following the link immediately below:

Matyszak, D.A (2010), Law, Politics, and Zimbabwe’s ‘Unity’ Government, KONRAD ADENAUER STIFTUNG in association with the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU].

[http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_21234-1522-1-30.pdf?101124145357]

In addition to this compendium are a number of other useful reports, some talking about the violence, others dealing with the electoral irregularities, and others dealing with the setting up the GPA:

Kwinjeh. G (2008), Staring a gift horse in the mouth. Death Spiral in Zimbabwe: Mediation, Violence and the GNU. 18 June 2008.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=134&Itemid=90]

Pigou, P (2008), Defining Violation: Political Violence or Crimes Against Humanity. June 2008. SITO: IDASA.

[http://www.idasa.org/our_products/resources/output/how_to_lose_an_election_and/?pid=states_in_transition]

Matyszak, D. (2008), How to lose an election and stay in power. June 2008. RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.idasa.org/our_products/resources/output/how_to_lose_an_election_and/?pid=states_in_transition]

Matyszak. D. (2008), Opinion on the legality of the presidential election which took place in Zimbabwe on June 27th 2009, and the legitimacy of any incumbent assuming office on the basis of the result of such an election. SITO: IDASA.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=134&Itemid=90]

RAU (2009), Hear no Evil, See no evil, Speak no evil: A critique of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission report on the 2008 General Elections. Report produced by Derek Matyszak (Senior Researcher). July 2009. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=134&Itemid=90]

RAU (2009), 2013 Vision – Seeing Double and the Dead. A preliminary Audit of Zimbabwe’s Voters’ Roll. Derek Matyszak. September 2009. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=134&Itemid=90]

 

Displacements: Old Wine in New Bottles

Over the decades, forced displacement has been frequently used in Zimbabwe as a political weapon. During the Liberation War, hundreds of thousands of rural Zimbabweans were forced from their homes and into “keeps”, so-called “protected villages”, in order to prevent their support for the freedom fighters. It is a tactic that has been repeatedly used subsequently since 2000, with Operation Murambatsvina the most notorious of the many examples.

However, it is not so evident to many that there has massive displacement, probably exceeding that of Operation Murambatsvina [OM], under the land reform process begun in 2000. This displacement has not been as overtly dramatic as OM, but has permanently displaced many more than under OM.

It is certainly the case that the displacement of the white commercial farmers has received huge media coverage whilst that of the black commercial farmworkers has not received anything like the same attention.

RAU has been examining the effects of displacement over the past 5 years, and issued a number of reports on this, as well as a documentary that has received critical appreciation. The report and the film on the effects of displacement on the commercial farm workers can be found by following the links below:

GAPWUZ (2009), If something wrong…The invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to “land reform”. Report prepared by the Research & Advocacy Unit and the Justice for Agriculture Trust. November 2009. HARARE: GENERAL AGRICULTURAL AND PLANTATION WORKERS UNION OF ZIMBABWE.

 

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=142&Itemid=90]

 

RAU (2009), “House of Justice”. 26 minute documentary on the SADC Tribunal and current farm invasions in contempt of the ruling. HARARE: RESEARCH & ADVOCACY UNIT.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqOjiq19rHk].

 

JAG/GAPWUZ (2007), DESTRUCTION OF ZIMBABWE’S BACKBONE INDUSTRY IN PURSUIT OF POLITICAL POWER. A qualitative report on events in Zimbabwe’s commercial farming sector since the year 2000. Report prepared by the Justice for Agriculture Trust [JAG] & the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe [GAPWUZ]. April 2008. HARARE: JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE TRUST.

 

[http://www.researchandadvocacyunit.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=142&Itemid=90]

 

The Arrogance of Power

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

Lord Acton’s words are as true today as they were in 1887. When politicians become corrupted by power, they become arrogant and tend to think that they own the people. They completely forget that their mandate is to serve the people. Instead, they demand to be called titles like “chef” and in most cases join the looting spree.

The very basis of the Inclusive Government in Zimbabwe was that it would give the warring parties, ZANU PF and the MDC formations the opportunity to institute political and legislative reforms that would create an environment conducive for free, fair and credible elections. The reforms included crafting a new charter for the country, bringing transparency, accountability and non-partisanship to the security sector, and ensuring the existence of a free media amongst others. The emphasis was on reforms before anything else and this was clear even from the SADC perspective. The ZANU PF congress resolution in 2011 pushed for early elections and the move was resisted by all parties. This was consistent with the message – REFORMS FIRST.

What happened to the reform agenda?

A constitution does not guarantee free and fair elections; these are guaranteed by the institutions of the state, which are currently exceedingly compromised by their political partisanship. The real challenge for the Inclusive Government, and something being continually demanded by SADC, is to create institutions that are manned by competent professional people that discharge their mandate without fear or favour.

We need traditional leaders who are non-partisan and who abide by the Traditional Leaders’ Act. We need a police force that is not manned by people who publicly attend political party rallies and declare their allegiance, thus not obeying the Police Act. There is a need to address the structures of violence in the communities where women were attacked and raped, where children had to witness violence targeted at their teachers, and where schools were threatened with closure. This machinery is still intact and this is a priority for reform. It is what people expect of its leaders and anything short of addressing these problems, and claiming that they are solved by a constitution that no-one has had time to examine, is misleading. Leaders must remember that they are in power due to the will of the populace, which is where real democratic sovereignty lies.

The Lost Decade in Schools.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Lazurus Dokora was quoted as saying, ““We cannot have a situation whereby the country is held at ransom by individuals who spent three years of their lives training to be teachers but later choose to sit at home while waiting to get a place to teach in Harare…” Minister Dokora was responding to a comment on an article which said that qualified secondary school teachers are shunning deployment in rural schools.  What Minister Dokora is forgetting is that threats don’t work to solve problems, especially considering that the teachers’ concerns are mostly genuine. No reasonable person would accept being deployed in rural areas with appalling working conditions. Whilst strides have been made to improve the literacy level in Zimbabwe since independence, there has not been any significant investment in infrastructure in schools, and often, children sit under make-shift classrooms where lessons are conducted . Staff houses in some cases are non-existent. All these factors work against teachers and they are genuine excuses why one would refuse to be deployed in rural areas.  With the 2012 ‘O’ level results showing that of the 172 698candidates who wrote exams, only 31 767attained passes in five subjects or better, translating to only 18.4 percent.

But poor conditions are not the only reason why teachers don’t want to work in rural areas.

Collaborative research between RAU and the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, on teachers’ experiences with elections since 2000, revealed that teachers were politically targeted for violence, especially in rural communities, because they are influential. They were also accused of masterminding the defeat of ZANU PF’s presidential candidate in the March 2008 election. As a result, many teachers had to flee to ‘safer’ places, which in most cases meant urban schools, and even leaving the country. It is reported that in 2008, about 94% of all rural schools in Zimbabwe closed shop owing to political violence which was also directed at teachers. Since then, it has become difficult to attract qualified personnel to take up posts in areas that are considered political hot-spots. These areas include (without prejudice) Uzumba, Maramba and Pfungwe.

Whilst government, on the one hand needs to seriously invest in infrastructure development in rural schools and address poor working conditions, at the political level, it should acknowledge that political violence has impacted negatively on education. Schools should be declared zones of peace, environments that allow children to learn and develop without being exposed to violence. RAU reports highlight that 25% of the violations reported by teachers taking place in schools happened in the presence of pupils, thereby exposing them directly to violence. In focus group discussions, some teachers reported that militias rounded up teachers from their classrooms and ordered pupils to beat them with sticks.

To expect a qualified teacher to take up a position in such unsafe areas then becomes unreasonable. Under no circumstances would any reasonable person, let alone a qualified teacher, take up a post in such an area, where their safety is in the hands of militias or political party activists. The structure of violence in communities needs to be dismantled to create peace zones. To fast track this, legislation to ban all political activities in schools is a clear option that government needs to pursue. This, and a combination of increasing the number of trained teachers produced in a year and improving the working conditions should see posts being taken up more easily.  Perhaps this will be the way in which we might eradicate the effects of a “lost decade”.

Keep soldiers out of schools

Zimbabwe is a country at peace, yet it resembles a ‘war zone”. This is especially so as the country prepares for the forthcoming elections with dates set to be announced soon. It was clear from the just ended ZANU PF Congress that the tone for elections has been set. This is despite the fact that reforms to enable a free and fair election have not been implemented to the fullest. Previous elections have shown that violence in Zimbabwe is directly linked to the electoral cycle and increases around major political events where political power is contested. Education is not spared from this violence, including personal attacks on teachers, school pupils, parents, infrastructure and school furniture.

A common feature witnessed during previous elections is the presence of soldiers in communities, supposedly just doing their drills. The fact that they are patrolling in communities that have been at the receiving end of violence is a cause for concern. It has an intimidatory effect given the violence of June 2008. The securocrats have not made the situation any better by making political statements threatening not to respect any election outcome that does not deliver the ZANU PF candidate to power. The military has also retained their presence in communities where in some cases bases are set in schools in what have been referred to as “Operation Maguta”.

The setting up of militia bases in schools have been identified by about 7% of respondents of teachers in Zimbabwe during a national survey conducted by the Research and Advocacy Unit in collaboration with the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe. Military use of schools has been a part of the Zimbabwe history dating back as far as the fight against colonialism. This trend has spilled over in post independent Zimbabwe. However, the difference between the two periods is that whilst militia bases were set up to support the struggle and attack the ‘enemy”, the current experience is that bases are set up to attack the community in which they are set up, therefore terrorising communities.

Some of the uses of schools for military purposes included village operational headquarters, detention and interrogation centers, and various food or grain input distribution schemes such as Operation Maguta.

“The moment a base is set at a school, it is at the expense of the pupils. It exposes pupils to real and potential attacks and other violence. The worst affected is the girl child. It is noted that during conflict the attendance of the girl child especially is affected. The risks include sexual abuse, sexual harassment including rape and these should never be taken lightly.

Military use of education institutions can cause damage to already-fragile education infrastructures and systems. The Zimbabwe Government has not been investing in educational infrastructure and cannot afford to have these bases set up in schools thus hastening the deterioration process. Decent staff housing and school infrastructure is a push factor noted from the study with teachers. In the end, schools in mostly rural areas will not attract qualified personnel.

Some of the educational consequences of military use of schools and other education institutions include the following;

i)  High dropout rates. The girl child is mostly affected

ii) Reduced enrollment

iii) Lower rates of transition to higher education levels,

iv) Closure of schools. In 2008 alone, Unicef noted that 94% of all rural schools were forced closed to owing to teachers who had fled attacks directed at them.

v)  Direct attacks on teachers.

Zimbabwe needs to urgently adopt policies that explicitly ban or restrict political parties from using education facilities. Schools should be zones of peace, places where the child is provided a safe place to learn and develop. Access to safe education should be priority. This is because quality education unlocks  potential, promotes peace and helps young people develop the skills and qualifications they need to build lives for themselves and prosperity for their communities.

Fragility and Education in Zimbabwe

Our blog today is a summary of our latest report on the effects of political violence experienced in schools and especially the effects on children who witness this violence:

“In a crisis, education is the strongest investment that can be made to reduce poverty.”        

-Carol Bellamy, Chair for the Global Partnership for Education

There has been increasing international debate on what role the state plays in facilitating or promoting the right to education, and, more recently, in states in crisis. This latter development is due to growing evidence that attacks have been directed on education – schools, teachers, and pupils – by governments themselves or insurgents aspiring to take over government. In Zimbabwe, attacks on education have been recorded from the struggle against colonial rule, where schools provided recruiting grounds for freedom fighters. However, in post independent Zimbabwe, the attacks have been directed at teachers, either directly or indirectly. Education has been both politicised and militarised by the setting up of militia bases in schools, attacking teachers, and exposing pupils to violence.

The impact of the attacks can have serious long-term consequences. Politically motivated violence against teachers does not only affect the teachers in person, but affects the prospects of better communities in general and the nation at large. The Research and Advocacy Unit, in collaboration with the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), conducted a national survey in 2010 to document teachers’ experiences with elections. This culminated in two reports, “Every school has a story to tell: Preliminary Report of a study on teachers’ experiences with Elections in Zimbabwe” and “Political Violence and Intimidation of Zimbabwean Teachers”. The reports identified the profile of perpetrators of violence, and the types of attacks teachers had to contend with, including attacks in front of school children. In some embarrassing cases, the children were given whips to beat the teachers. Important to note from the findings is the politicisation of education as well as militarisation by setting up militia bases in schools.

This paper contends that the long term impact of violence is now being experienced and has affected the quality of education in Zimbabwe. For instance, schools in the rural areas that have experienced high levels of violence have continuously failed to attract qualified teachers and are increasingly manned by temporary teachers. The pass rates have not been pleasing with some schools recording zero percent pass rates in public examinations. Some of the more direct effects of attacks on teachers include closure of schools, as happened in 2008 when 94% of all rural schools were reported to have closed as teachers fled attacks. Even when schools don’t close, attendance is affected, with the impact felt more by girl children. When militia bases are set in schools or within the proximity of schools, they pose real and potential danger of pupils to abuse, especially rape or sexual abuse of girls.

There is ample evidence that exposing children to political violence can have serious effects on the mental and social adjustment of children, and some of the possible consequences are outlined in this report. As regards social adjustment, it is important to note the possible impact of violence in engendering a culture of violence for the future of Zimbabwe: exposure to violence, especially by other youth can inculcate both a tolerance of violence and even future participation in violence. Thus, by exposing children to violence, the psychological and social consequences for the nation can be highly undesirable.

Accordingly, a number of recommendations are made. The recommendations are drawn from the previous reports by the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), and are re-stated as there has been little or no acknowledgement by the Inclusive Government of the need to address the implications of these reports:

1. The Government of Zimbabwe must immediately declare schools as zones of peace and as such enact laws that restrict and criminalise the use or occupation of schools for political activities, especially during the electoral period.

2. Civic society and teacher unions must develop monitoring systems to detect early warning systems of attacks on education and to report political disturbances in schools in compliance with UN Resolution No. 1612 with additional modifications relevant to the situation in Zimbabwe.

3. The Ministry of Education in conjunction with critical stakeholders like the police, parents and teacher unions must set up school protection committees so that social services rendered by schools are not interrupted during times of conflict like elections.

4. The Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) must actively investigate all reports involving political violence and intimidation against teachers, and at schools.

5. The government must uphold strictly provisions of paragraph 20 to the First Schedule of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 (Public Service Regulations, 2000) and clauses 79, 80 and 81 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendations concerning the Status of Teachers to negate the current insistence on teachers being compelled to support only one political party.

6. The Ministry of Education must introduce civic education in the primary and secondary school curriculum which promotes national cohesion, peace and tolerance.

7. The process of national healing, if it is ever going to take off meaningfully, should have a thematic area dealing with the education sector in order to restore the social bond between teachers and communities which has been weakened by recurrent election violence and politicisation of the public service.

8. Overall compliance with the spirit and letter of the GPA is strongly recommended in order to curb institutionalised violence.

Please go to our website to download the full report: www.researchandadvocacyunit.org

16 Days of Activism. What are you doing?

The  23^rd of November 2012 marks the first day of 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV). This year Zimbabwe unites with the rest of the world under the global theme “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge all forms of Gender Based Violence and End Violence against Women!” Gender-based violence is usually committed against women and girls and although sexual violence against men and boys also occurs there are reportedly fewer cases. GBV is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed (gender) differences between men and women. The nature and extent of specific types of GBV vary across cultures, countries and regions. Examples include rape, sexual exploitation and forced prostitution; domestic violence; trafficking; forced or early marriage; and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation and honour killings. Lately the media has been reporting cases of domestic violence, highlighting its prominence in Zimbabwe.

It is therefore important for Zimbabweans to familiarise themselves with the current laws on GBV and encourage policy makers to continuously review these laws to combat GBV. We all have a role to play in raising the visibility of Gender Based Violence and prioritising the prevention of violence against women, girls and men. CHANGE BEGINS WITH YOU TODAY!!