“Dixon Chibanda is one of 12 psychiatrists in Zimbabwe – for a population of more than 16 million. Realizing that his country would never be able to scale traditional methods of treating those with mental health issues, Chibanda helped to develop a beautiful solution powered by a limitless resource: grandmothers. In this extraordinary, inspirational talk, learn more about the friendship bench program, which trains grandmothers in evidence-based talk therapy and brings care, and hope, to those in need.”
In many ways, researching violence against women is similar to researching other sensitive topics. There are issues of confidentiality, problems of disclosure, and the need to ensure adequate and informed consent. As the previous quote from an interviewer illustrates, however, there are aspects of gender-based violence research that transcend those in other areas becauseof the potentially threatening and traumatic nature of the subject matter. In the case of violence, the safety and even the lives of women respondents and interviewers may be at risk .
This publication speaks about enforced disappearances and underscores the important issue of human rights concerns globally.
We are a human-rights-based development organization that strives to mitigate the consequences of severe human rights violations, such as collective violence. We support and empower victims/survivors of human rights violations and seek to change the conditions that perpetuate collective violence through preventative strategies.
Organised violence and torture has been documented in all the last three decades of Zimbabwe’s history, as was indicated earlier.vii One study showed that 1 adult in 10 over the age of 30 years reported torture and was suffering from a clinically significant psychological disorder as a consequence,viii and high rates of torture and consequent psychological disorder were found in a study of former guerrilla soldiers from the Liberation War of the 1970s. The paper was originally put together to stimulate and deepen discussion at the workshop on healing held at Mandel Centre, Harare in July (2011) and should be read in conjunction with the workshop report where the experience and ideas of participants are recorded.
In August 2003, the Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders, joint programme of the International federation for human rights (FIDH) and the World organisation against torture OMCT) mandated a mission in Zimbabwe, in order to evaluate the situation of human rights defenders in the country. 2003 was marked by the fierce repression human rights defenders have had to face under the increasingly authoritarian regime.
A book published on the occasion of the IRCT’s 20th anniversary, in 2005, tells the history of the organisation through personal tales and testimonies.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (also known as the “Human Rights Forum”) has been in existence since January 1998. Non-governmental organisations working in the field of human rights came together to provide legal and psycho-social assistance to the victims of the Food Riots of January 1998. The Human Rights Forum has now expanded its objectives to assist victims of organised violence.