4.5 WOZA survey The ActionAid survey is strongly corroborated by research carried by Women of Zimbabwe Arise [WOZA]55. WOZA provides very interesting data as it is concerned with the experiences of activists – frequently protesting in public - as opposed to the general public, and allows a good understanding of the treatment meted out to those seen as dissident by the Zimbabwe state. Using comparable methodology to the ActionAid study, and including the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire [HTQ], the WOZA research provided very similar findings to the ActionAid survey. Of a total sample of 1,983 women interviewed, the HTQ was completed by 1,505 [76%] of the sample. TABLE 13 Comparison of trauma between provinces: Pre-1980 and 1980-1999 Source: WOZA.200856 MASHONALAND MATABELELAND Pre-1980 [Experienced] 1.11 1.59* Pre-1980 [Witnessed] 1.11 1.59* Pre-1980 [OVT] 0.22 0.33* Pre-1980 [Displaced] 0.43 0.53 1980-1999 [Experienced] 2.26 2.70* 1980-1999 [Witnessed] 2.45 3.55* 1980-1999 [OVT] 0.30 0.46* 1980-1999 [Displaced] 1.36 1.37 *p=0.001 Since WOZA derives a substantial part of its membership from Matabeleland, they reported upon a contrast between their Matabeleland and Mashonaland members for the period before Independence [Pre-1980] and also for the period from Independence to immediately prior to the growth of mass repression in 2000. As can be seen from Table 13, the Matabeleland sample reported significantly high rates of reported trauma than their Mashonaland counterparts, and clearly much of this had to do with Gukurahundi, as was also shown by a contrast between the older [over 35 years] and younger members in the Matabeleland sample. Thus, the WOZA data also provides strong corroboration of the earlier assertion that organized violence and torture has been a common feature of the Zimbabwean political landscape for several decades. The WOZA study also provided good evidence for the trend, seen in the Human Rights Forum and the ActionAid data, of dramatically increasing rates of reported trauma, which includes gross human rights violations since 2000, as can be seen from Table 14. Interestingly, the WOZA data reports higher rates of “experienced” trauma than “witnessed” trauma, but it should be remembered that this data, unlike the ActionAid data, derives from an “activist” organization, and hence from women that were deliberately facing the possibility of being abused for their activities. TABLE 14 Trauma scores by year 2000-2007 Source: WOZA.200857 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 HTQ[Total] 1.1 0.7 2.1 1.4 1.4 2.7 3.3 4.01 HTQ[Experienced] 0.6 0.4 1.1 0.8 0.8 1.4 1.8 2.1 HTQ[Witnessed] 0.5 0.4 1 0.6 0.64 1.3 1.4 1.96 HTQ[OVT] 0.1 0.03 0.11 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.4 HTQ[Displaced] 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.5 0.54 0.97 1.04 1.3 As can be seen from Figure 1 [over], which compares the frequency of reported trauma for Matabeleland and Mashonaland, the trends are very similar for the years 2000 to 2003, but then the Matabeleland sample shows significantly elevated rates until 2006. WOZA was formed in 2003 with a largely Matabeleland membership in their civic actions, and hence it is not surprising that the rates of trauma reported by the Matabeleland members were higher in the early years of the organization. However, this trend changes markedly in later years, and most drastically in 2007. 55 56 57 Page 18 See WOZA (2008), The effects of fighting repression with love. A report by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). March 2008. ZIMBABWE: WOMEN OF ZIMBABWE ARISE;WOZA (2008), The traumatic consequences of gross human rights violations suffered by WOZA women. HARARE: WOMEN OF ZIMBABWE ARISE. See WOZA (2008), The traumatic consequences of gross human rights violations suffered by WOZA women. HARARE: WOMEN OF ZIMBABWE ARISE. See again WOZA (2008), The traumatic consequences of gross human rights violations suffered by WOZA women. HARARE: WOMEN OF ZIMBABWE ARISE.