Household safety and security
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 is 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 female-headed 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.
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