In Zimbabwe, 42.7% of women between the ages of 15-49 have experienced domestic violence in their lives. Due to gender inequality, women often don’t have access to the same level of education as men, leading to them becoming financially dependent on their husbands. Many men also feel as though they ‘own their wives’ because of the Lobola (Bride Price) paid before marriage. This issue doesn’t just affect the women but many of these women have children who have to witness or be subjected to the same violence.

Domestic abuse of any sort is a major problem around the world, but in countries like Zimbabwe, the major gender inequality and financial dependency all contribute to the increasingly high statistics of violence within homes. This abuse is generally targeted at woman and has heightened since COVID, which is why we aim to provide a safe space for women to reach out as well as therapy and assistance to help them rebuild their lives.

By providing assistance and therapy to women in difficult situations we hope to empower them to become independent and seek viable and safe forms of employment. This will increase their contribution to the economy and reducing inequality. COVID has aggravated the issue of domestic violence, but the recent instalment of our domestic violence phone line has been a huge success in providing women with a way to get help and we hope with more donations to increase our impact

Working with a local partner our aim is to tackle SDG 5- Gender Equality, by providing a life-line for women in abusive relationships to reach out to for help as well as provide therapy and tools so that they can become independent and earn an income. Our partner also seeks to help women who are forcibly in the sex-trade to transition to alternative economically empowering activities, as well as educate and campaign against the recruitment of children into the commercial sex trade