15,000 cases of torture documented in Zimbabwe since 2001

By Violet Gonda
08 December 2006

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (ZHRF) says in its monthly report that the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe has resulted in a dramatic increase in state violence. According to the group, more than 15,000 cases of organized torture and violence have been documented in Zimbabwe since 2001.

The Forum received 967 reports of gender based violence during the six-year period, out of more than 15,000 human rights violations reported. The group said incidents of sexual violence are seriously under-reported and that among the harrowing cases cited of “political rape’’ was that of a 16-year-old girl raped by militia outside her family home to punish her mother for supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Other attacks include beatings, death threats, kidnapping and torture.
The ZHRF said it supports the continuation of targeted sanctions against members of the ruling party as the government has not shown its commitment to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Meanwhile nearly 100 people, mainly Zimbabwean refugees, demonstrated in Johannesburg South Africa on Thursday to highlight the plight of the immigrants trying to claim asylum there. A report called ‘Women on the Run: Female survivors of torture amongst Zimbabwean asylum seekers and refugees in South Africa,’ was also launched.

Compiled by the South Africa based Zimbabwe Torture Victims Survivors Project (ZTVP), the document reveals that thousands of Zimbabwean women have been subjected to several forms of state torture, including rape. The report, which was compiled together with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, was written to coincide with South Africa’s ‘16 days on gender activism.’

Every year the South Africa NGO Coalition commemorates this day and this year the Zimbabwean rights groups participated with their counterparts. The report was later handed over to the South African government.

ZTVP Project Co-ordinator Dolores Cortes told newsreel that their main demand; “Is that the South African government must take into account the existence of politically motivated gender based violence in its foreign policy and to allow women refugees fleeing from such violence to exercise their right to asylum.”

Large numbers of Zimbabwean women are fleeing their homes and even their country to avoid violence and according to the ZTVP, women make up 32% of all torture survivors seen by the project from February 2005 to September 2006. More than 84% of the women have arrived in South Africa since 2004.

It’s reported that the perpetrators are mainly ZANU PF supporters, the Central Intelligence Organisation, police, army and war veterans. Dolores Cortes said under SA law a person who flees their country because their life is at risk should be able to receive assistance. “But of the 102 women, the report is based on, only 2% have received refugee status.” Only 34 % of the women torture survivors have received the first step of applying for refugee status, which gives them some legal status to stay in South Africa.

It’s estimated that there are at least 3million Zimbabweans living in South Africa. Most illegally cross the crocodile infested Limpopo river to escape into South Africa.

The human rights groups urged South African, who is also a member of the United Nation Security Council, to be more vocal.