Executive Summary Introduction Justice for Children (JCT) in conjunction with Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) and Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA) signed an agreement with UN Women to implement the joint gender-based violence (GBV) project in three districts: Bindura in Mashonaland Central Province, Makoni in Manicaland Province and Beitbridge in Matabeleland South Province. The project is drawn against one of the Government of Zimbabwe’s key interventions in improving utilisation of comprehensive quality services for protection, care and support for GBV survivors in accordance with the National Gender-Based Violence Strategy. The project sought to respond and strengthen community gender-based violence service delivery and holistic support targeting adolescent girls and young women in line with the Multi-Sectoral Protocol on the Management of Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe and the Constitution. JCT, WLSA and ZWLA are jointly implementing the project as legal aid service providers. The three institutions have so far handled GBV cases for the benefit of over 5,000 women and girls (as direct target beneficiaries) and men and children (as secondary beneficiaries)) on a variety of GBV cases, including sexual abuse, child marriage, neglect and domestic violence. Project Background In recent years, gender-based violence has grabbed international attention as a serious social and human rights violation. In Zimbabwe, the percentage of women who experienced GBV decreased from 18.4 percent in 2010 to 14.5 percent in 2015, which seems an improvement, according to the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey key findings.1 However, there has been an increase in the percentage of women who report having experienced violence in their lifetime (from 29.9 percent in 2010 to 38.4 percent in 2015), according to the ZDHS 2015 key findings. In these instances, the most commonly reported perpetrator is the current or former husband or partner, the survey adds. About 1 in 3 women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and about 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, says the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Zimbabwe Country Team. 1 ZDHS 2015 Key Findings/UNFPA Zimbabwe