Executive Summary
Violence against women and children is a common phenomenon in Zimbabwe. It occurs, both in the
private and public spheres, catalysed by a number of factors that stem from the way in which society is
structured. These factors include culture, tradition, religion, politics, and the economy. These factors
contribute to shaping societal perceptions of why violence against women occurs, how society perceives
the victim and the perpetrator, and how society responds to address cases of violence against women.
Amidst all the other forms of violence against women such as wife battering and ritual killings, rape and
other forms of sexual violence are becoming increasing social ills in Zimbabwean society.
In order to gain some understanding about public perceptions of sexual violence, RAU carried a small
preliminary study. This report is based on the results of this study, which was done through the
administration of a questionnaire prepared by RAU with a special focus on rape as a component of sexual
violence.
The study revealed interesting findings about how people view rape including that:
Most people had a good understanding of what rape is and they based it on cultural implications;
Most of the respondents blamed culture for rape and a relatively high number of persons thought
that it was always the perpetrator’s fault if rape occurred;
Many people who blamed culture for rape also viewed dressing as a contributory factor to rape;
The majority of the people did not know if raping a commercial sex worker is a crime or not and
many of them blamed cultural violations against these workers.
Most of the people who blamed culture believed that marital rape exists;
Most people thought it was not the child’s fault if the child got raped, however more thought
differently if the child was a teenager;
Many people believed that a boy can be raped;
Most of the people indicated that the first port of call after rape is the police, with a significant
number also saying a medical facility but both groups were agreed that the report should be made
within 48 hours;
Very few people knew that pregnancy could be prevented after rape;
Even fewer people knew that HIV could be prevented after rape;
Most people knew that there are laws that prohibit rape including marital rape and statutory rape;
Many people did not know of harmful cultural practices that make women susceptible to rape.
RECOMMENDATIONS
There is a need for increased public education especially areas that could reduce/mitigate the horrific effects of rape
on the victims such as HIV prevention through post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pregnancy prevention;
There is also need to emphasise the need for victims to report rape immediately after rape occurs, although within
48 hours the interventions mentioned above would still possibly work;