Chiradzulu gears for zero GBV, child abuse cases
The Chiradzulu District Council says it has intensified efforts towards eliminating cases of gender-based violence (GBV), child abuse and property grabbing in the district.
The council’s GBV technical working group coordinator, Mike Maulidi, said this in an interview on Tuesday on the sidelines of a planning meeting, which took place at the offices of the district education manager (DEM).
Maulidi said GBV, child abuse and property grabbing are among the common drivers of poverty among most families in the country; hence, the group wants to root them out to unlock the district’s social and economic potential.
He explained that findings of different studies have indicated that there is diminished autonomy and reduced control over resources where women are abused as victims have less possibility for decision-making in the household, decreased freedom of movement in society and high economic dependency.
“Children, too, pay the price as their mothers suffer stress, depression and anxiety as consequences of violence. And this may reduce the mother’s ability to cope with the everyday needs of her children, thereby impacting negatively on the social and mental growth of the little ones,” said Maulidi who is also the district social welfare officer.
He added: “We want to totally eliminate GBV, child abuse and property grabbing in this district. And we’re determined to achieve this goal within the next few months. We don’t want Chiradzulu to be registering these cases anymore.”
He thanked non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such Development Aid from People to People (Dapp), World Vision, Tadzuka Women’s Forum and Centre for Alternatives for Victimised Women and Children (Cavwoc) for providing support towards the activities of the GBV committee.
Maulidi indicated that, currently, the committee does not get any support from government and that it relies on the goodwill of NGOs and individuals to fund its activities.
