human rights violations. Against this background, the culture of impunity became firmly entrenched and this is to be demonstrated by the subsequent narrative. III 2000-2008 In October 2000, an amnesty for politically motivated crimes was announced. This was after allegations of state-orchestrated violence both before and after the constitutional referendum of February 2000. This amnesty covered the period of violent invasions of white owned commercial farms and the parliamentary elections in June 2000, which were marred by violence. It was not extended to those who had committed crimes such as 'murder, robbery, rape, indecent assault, statutory rape, theft, possession of arms and any offence involving fraud or dishonesty'. However, those responsible for other egregious offences including torture were also excused from any liability. Throughout this period there was an increasing level of repression. This was mostly manifested in unabated, widespread and systematic human rights violations during presidential elections of 2002 and also in local, mayoral and parliamentary by-elections held in 2003. Other human rights violations included attacks on human rights defenders, infringements on freedom of association and assembly, censorship of the independent media, excessive use of force by the Zimbabwe Republic Police including torture and ill-treatment, and violations of the right to food and housing. It is fair to state that the country's human rights abuses mainly occurred before and after elections and were also associated with the state's excessive use of force when responding to demonstrations. This does not mean that there was no crisis since the country during this period faced the worst economic challenges ever since its formation. It is thus fair to state that the worst violations during this epoch were those of economic, social and cultural rights. Of significance is the gender dimension of the country's crisis, evidenced by the fact that the impact of the economic decline has been felt more acutely by women who have openly protested against the same. Of course women in Zimbabwe have also suffered physical rights violations in common with men, for example the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) group which has been at the forefront of demonstrations and whose members have frequently been physically assaulted by the police. Nonetheless, other recorded gender based violations include sexual violence perpetrated by those identified to be supporters of ZANU PF during the election periods in the years 2000 and Truth Commissions: the Best Practices 25