4. Responsibility for human rights abuses Responsibility for human rights abuses is one of the key aspects that this research project considered, and this is covered in the fourth section of the report. Of those respondents who had experienced human right abuses, 60 per cent blamed political activists for the violence, while 12 per cent blamed militant groups. 5. What the victims feel This section deals with the victims’ needs as part of the transitional justice process in the country. The statistics here indicate an urgent need for healing and justice, as a combined total of 76 per cent of respondents said they were still struggling to deal with past violations. 6. Healing and repentance The views of Zimbabweans on healing and reconciliation are summarized under this heading. The questions capture respondents’ views on the possibility of repentance by perpetrators of political violence and of the healing of the victims. Forty-one per cent of the respondents did not believe that perpetrators of political violence would ever repent; 41 per cent also believed that the victims of political violence cannot be healed. 7. Recommendations on the way forward This section outlines the respondents’ recommendations for a transitional justice process in Zimbabwe. The issues covered by the questions include the rehabilitation of the victims, truth recovery, reparations, accountability, administration of the transitional justice programme in Zimbabwe and the time frame it should cover. A summary of the key expectations of Zimbabwean communities in each key area follows. 8. How far should we go back? This section considers the respondents’ views on the period that should be covered by a transitional justice process in Zimbabwe. There were differences with respect to the responses from the ten provinces to this question, which were especially notable between the Matabeleland and Mashonaland regions: respondents in the former favoured looking back to the period just after independence, whereas those in the latter regions predominantly believed that the period of time from 2008 to the present should be covered. The responses given by the different regions were in accordance with the periods during which violence was at its peak in those areas. 9. Security This section records the personal security concerns of individuals about possible future human rights violations, and who they thought might be responsible for any threat to their security. The respondents were also asked about the measures they would take if they were attacked. Fifty-three per cent of the respondents stated that they lived in fear of violence; 52 per cent stated that political activists were the reason that they were afraid. 6 Transitional Justice Survey – A Report of the People’s Perceptions and Recommendations