9
it should also be pointed out that, despite the higher frequencies of violations reported by men,
the women did also report very high frequencies of violations other than rape and indecent
assault, as can be seen in Table 6 below.
Beatings
Unlawful arrest/detention
Threats
Sensory over-stimulation
Harassment
Victim of Murambatsvinaa
Psychological torture
Witnessing violation
Electrical shock
Falanga
Burnings
Rape
Indecent assault
Table 6
Female
63%
17%
76%
41%
67%
15%
78%
70%
2%
4%
8%
15%*
8%**
*p=0.005; **p=0.025
Male
83%*
36%*
90%*
60%*
65%
10%
90%
87%*
18%*
11%**
9%
1%
3%
Thus, it is evident that differences exist between women and men, but it is also evident that
some of these, especially in respect of the violations experienced, are simply quantitative. The
qualitative differences, on employment, are what would be expected from a Zimbabwean sample.
Single versus Multiple incidents
Above it was noted that men were more likely to report multiple violations, but it was also noted
that nearly half the female sample also reported multiple violations. Hence, an analysis was done
to determine whether there were any factors that might explain the differences in the female
sample only. A contrast between women that reported multiple incidents as compared with those
who only had a single incident was done.
No strong differences in the timing of their seeking refuge were found between the 2 groups,
except a trend for more women from the multiple incident group to arrive in South African in
2006. Again there were no real differences between the two sub-groups in age, marital status or
employment status, and there were no differences in the reported rates of being activists or
members of the MDC. However, those who reported multiple incidents were significantly more
likely to report having experienced their violations at the hands of Zanu(PF) Youth or the ZRP[see
Table 7 below].
Table 7
Single incident
Zanu(PF)
Zanu(PF) Youth
Militia
Army
Police
War veterans
Youth militia
CIO
MDC
Unknown
48%
12%
12%
5%
10%
17%
0
5%
0
10%
*p=0.05; **p=0.01
Multiple
incidents
58%
36%**
9%
7%
24%*
15%
5%
7%
0
5%