WHILE Zimbabwe counts down to a possible election next year, a chilling report on politically-motivated rape during the last polls has been released.

The report, drawn by the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) and the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights (ZDHR), shows that 2008 had the highest number of politically motivated rapes as compared to other elections since 2000.

The year 2008 was characterised by a wave of politically-motivated violence in the run up to the abortive presidential election run-off, between President Robert Mugabe and MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

A number of deaths, injuries and rape cases were reported during the campaign period, with the violence largely blamed on Mugabe and his Zanu PF party.

According to the report most women were raped many times while one woman said she was abused by up to 13 people on one occasion.

The sample was chosen from women members of a voluntary network set up to provide support for female victims of politically-motivated rape.

A total of 34 women were interviewed, but seven were excluded from the study as they could not be traced on follow-up for medical examinations and finalising and signing affidavits.

The data was then drawn up from 27 women, with the researchers saying the study was of a clinical nature rather than epidemiological, hence there was no attempt to determine either the prevalence of political rape or to establish how representative the sample was.

In the past there were reports that women were often taken to political bases where they would be abused, but the study noted that most rapes took place in public or near the victim’s home.

“A distressingly high number of the rapes, 11, took place in public, at or near the victim’s home, and witnessed by the victim’s family and children,” the report states.

Some women are said to have estimated the number of people who took turns to rape them, as in some cases they had fallen unconscious while being abused.

Of the 27 women, only four said they had reported the cases, while only one had received post-trauma care.
During the survey, it was noted that most of the women displayed symptoms of post- traumatic stress disorder and the presence of some symptoms suggesting depression.

By The Standard