ActionAid International - Combined Harare Residents’ Association - A Study on the impact of “Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order” Household safety and security was defined as the family ability to protect and safe guard its assets (physical) and from exploitation. • Almost half (49%) of the homesteads reported that this indicator had been compromised as a result of the operation. Disruption of family unit Housing waiting list runs into hundreds of thousands in Harare and all other urban areas in Zimbabwe. Sharing of homesteads and extension of houses was a way in which Harareans sought to mitigate the accommodation problem. • More than 75% of the respondents reported losing shelter. • It worrying to note that over 40% of homesteads visited reported that family units had been disrupted as a result of the operation. Mostly children and spouses had been relocated back to the rural homesteads if this was plausible. Women status and dignity Humiliation and loss of dignity as a direct result of the operation was also reported. Prior to the demolition exercise, it is reported and accounted by respondents that the authorities would move around marking what they deemed as illegal structures using paint. The marked buildings were to be destroyed. Such actions resemble a war situation. This is witnessed by 39% of the interviewed homesteads claiming that they had lost their dignity as a result of the Operation. Increased vulnerability for women and children • It is saddening to note that 37% of the interviewed homesteads acknowledged that women and children had become more vulnerable to abuse as a consequence of the Operation. Furthermore, a high proportion of these were from femaleheaded households. Psychologically affected (traumatised) • Almost 40% of respondents interviewed claimed that they had been traumatized by the graphic, detailed and heavy handedness of the implementers of the Operations. From the analysis done, this was generally the same across board. Despite the low proportion of child headed households, this seemed to be reported in 82% of child headed households. Coping mechanisms adopted by households • Currently, only 37% households reported that they were using their own resources to sustain the family. • A further 22% claimed to be getting assistance from relatives, whilst government, community based organizations and non-governmental organizations accounted for a mere 6%. • More importantly is the realization that 35% of households were not managing at all. In this bracket, the majority were child- and women headed households accounting for 76% of the responses. Assistance currently being received • Of those that reported receiving assistance from the various sources, the following categories are the nature of assistance being received; food (17%), shelter (15%), monetary (8%), education for children (7%), relocation (5%), iv