Stakeholders in Zimbabwe have called for stronger legal protections and survivor-centred support systems to tackle Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), amid growing concern over rising cases of online abuse.
The calls were made on Thursday at a Digital Rights Academy workshop organised by Paradigm Initiative and the Bulawayo Progressive Residents in Bulawayo.
The workshop focused on raising awareness of digital rights and promoting digital inclusion.
Speaking at the event, researcher and digital rights advocate Chiti Mbizule-Mutati, who is also a project manager at Paradigm Initiative, said responses to online gender-based violence must prioritise the safety and wellbeing of victims.
On this topic
“Protection measures must ensure victims and survivors are not exposed to further harm,” she said.
“They should not face retaliation, social exclusion or any other form of victimisation after reporting these cases.”
Mutati said law enforcement agencies and prosecutors should adopt approaches that place survivors at the centre of the justice process.
“When we investigate and prosecute gender-based violence, every step must be victim-centred, trauma-informed and gender-responsive,” she said.
“Perpetrators must be held accountable through proper investigations, disciplinary procedures and appropriate sanctions.”
She also stressed the need for specialised training for frontline service providers who support survivors of abuse.
“The people who work directly with victims and survivors must be properly trained professionals,” she said.
“They need to provide support with sensitivity, understand the trauma survivors go through and respond in a way that puts the survivor’s needs first.”
Mutati said governments have a legal obligation to protect citizens from violence, including abuse carried out through digital platforms.
She cited international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as frameworks that require states to protect vulnerable groups such as women, journalists, human rights defenders and witnesses.
Participants at the workshop also called for reforms to Zimbabwe’s legal framework to address emerging forms of digital abuse.
One participant, Isheanesu Mazivise, said existing laws were not keeping pace with technology-driven forms of violence.
“At policy level, we still do not have enough supportive laws in the country,” he said.
“If we update the Domestic Violence Act so that it clearly covers Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence, we can make meaningful progress and then focus on effective implementation.”
Another participant, Dione Gowero, warned that gender-based violence was becoming increasingly normalised on social media platforms.
“Some people now treat gender-based violence as normal on platforms like TikTok and Facebook,” she said.
“They post harmful content to attract likes, gain followers and eventually monetise their accounts, and that is something we need to address.”
Leave a Reply