23. While noting the adoption of the new Domestic Violence Act in 2006, the Committee expresses its concern at the high prevalence of violence against women in the State party, in particular domestic and sexual violence, which remains, in many cases, underreported, as well as at the lack of statistical data disaggregated by sex, and also at the absence of an expressed political will to give high priority to eliminating violence against women. While welcoming the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act in 2003, which recognizes marital rape as an offence, the Committee is deeply concerned that despite the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in 2006 and the establishment of an Anti-Domestic Violence Council, responsible for the implementation of the Act, its effectiveness has been hampered, as the State party has not allocated the required monetary and human resources thereto.
The Committee is further concerned at the State party’s failure to address politically motivated violence against women. The Committee is again concerned that there is only one State-established shelter for women victims of violence (the two other shelters were established by NGOs), and that it is not exclusively for women victims of domestic violence. The Committee is also concerned about acts of violence perpetrated by State and non-State actors, against lesbian, bisexual and transgender women.
24. The Committee urges the State party to:
(f) Provide effective protection against violence and discrimination against all groups of women, including lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, in particular through the enactment of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that includes the prohibition of multiple forms of discrimination and through the launching of a sensitisation campaign aimed at the general public, as well as providing appropriate training to law enforcement officials.
Link to full text of the report: Concluding Observations-CEDAW-Zimbabwe-2012-eng
