Civil society organisations have urged the Zimbabwean government to turn its signing of an African Union convention on ending violence against women and girls into concrete legal, institutional and community measures.
The call was made at a civil society sensitisation meeting convened by Lunia Centre for Youths (LCY) to deepen understanding of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), identify advocacy priorities and develop a common position on its implementation.
The meeting, held under the theme Strengthening civil society: understanding and collective action towards the ratification and implementation of the AU-CEVAWG, brought together civil society organisations, women’s rights groups, youth-led organisations, feminist movements, legal practitioners, community-based organisations and other stakeholders.
Zimbabwe signed the AU-CEVAWG on 27 August 2026, becoming the 10th African Union member state to sign the instrument.
On this topic
The convention is the first legally binding African Union instrument specifically dedicated to preventing and addressing violence against women and girls.
Participants said Zimbabwe’s signature should be followed by a clear process towards ratification and domestication. They said the government should explain what the convention means for citizens and how its obligations will be incorporated into national laws and policies.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has also urged Zimbabwe to move towards ratification, saying the protection envisaged under the convention requires ratification, domestication and effective implementation.
CSOs said implementation should recognise that women are not a homogeneous group and that different groups experience violence in different ways.
They called for greater attention to the experiences of women with disabilities, rural women and women working in the informal sector, among other groups.
Participants also called for sustained awareness programmes at grassroots level so that communities understand gender-based violence, their rights and the mechanisms available to seek protection and justice.
They said strengthening communities should be an important part of implementation because communities are often the first responders when cases of violence occur.
The organisations also raised concerns about women’s economic dependence on perpetrators, saying economic empowerment programmes should form part of efforts to break cycles of violence.
Participants called for simplified information on laws dealing with gender-based violence so communities can understand their rights and legal protections without having to navigate complicated legal language.
They proposed simplified versions of relevant legislation and rights instruments that could be distributed within communities.
The meeting also highlighted the need for Zimbabwe’s implementation priorities to reflect the country’s specific forms and context of violence rather than simply adopting approaches from other African countries.
Participants pointed to harmful cultural practices, including virginity testing and widow inheritance, as issues requiring attention in Zimbabwe.
They also raised concerns about emerging forms of abuse, including emotional abuse, and called for these to be properly recognised and addressed.
Disability inclusion was another concern, with participants calling for greater accessibility within the justice system.
The discussion included the need for justice institutions to have effective mechanisms for communicating with people with disabilities, including access to sign-language interpretation where required.
Participants also discussed the role of documentation in accessing justice, emphasising the need to ensure survivors have the necessary documentation and support to pursue cases through the justice system.
CSOs further called on Zimbabwe to identify country-specific issues that may require attention before ratification, including possible gaps in existing laws and policies.
The African Union has developed a roadmap covering the signature, ratification, domestication and implementation of the convention, providing guidance to member states on the process.
CSOs said they would need to maintain engagement with the government to ensure the convention does not remain a commitment on paper but leads to practical measures to improve prevention, protection, access to justice and support for survivors of violence.
Lunia Centre for Youths founder and executive director Tjedu Moyo said civil society organisations recognised the political will and commitment shown by the ministry towards the convention.
“But we are hopeful that there’s going to be more consultations and more linkages to the community and the realities of women and girls really lived to realities so that the convention, once it’s ratified and we’re not domesticating and implementing it, we won’t have to go back and start having to amend again.
“We still have time now, and we are hopeful that it’s going to be a possibility.”
A feminist analysis of the convention also highlighted the need for implementation to address the structural factors that drive violence against women and girls, rather than treating violence as a series of isolated incidents.
The analysis welcomed the AU-CEVAWG as an important continental commitment but identified areas that could affect its implementation, including the need for stronger human rights-based protections, recognition of women in all their diversity and clearer obligations on states to prevent violence and hold perpetrators accountable.
It also called for greater recognition of violence in workplaces, schools, the informal economy and other spaces where women and girls may face abuse, including sexual harassment and other forms of exploitation.
The analysis further argued that women’s rights and feminist organisations, as well as survivors of violence, should have a meaningful role in monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensure implementation reflects lived experiences and produces measurable change.
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