HARARE – The Gender Commission has declared war on the violence that festers behind closed doors, announcing a 90-day national campaign against intimate partner violence (IPV) as it warns of rising reports of domestic disputes ending in death.

Launching the drive at a media briefing in Harare on Friday, commission chairperson Leslie Ncube said the danger was lurking in the very place meant to be a refuge.

“The commission is deeply concerned by the increasing reports of physical, sexual, emotional and other forms of violence occurring within intimate relationships, including cases that escalate into loss of life,” he said.

The campaign will run from October to December 2026 and culminate in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Ncube said it seeks to “move the national conversation beyond responding to violence after it occurs towards prevention, early identification of warning signs, mental health dialogue, healthy relationships, peaceful conflict resolution, reporting, survivor support and institutional accountability.”

He was blunt about those who would rather look away.

“Intimate partner violence cannot be dismissed as a private family matter,” Ncube said. “It is a human rights, gender equality, social and development concern that requires a coordinated national response.”

The numbers, he indicated, tell their own story. The Zimbabwe Republic Police recorded at least 13,838 cases of sexual offences and aggravated domestic violence in 2024, while the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2023–2024 found that 27 percent of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical violence and nine percent sexual violence in their lifetime.

Yet the official figures, Ncube warned, may be only the tip of the iceberg.

“Behind every reported case there may be many more incidents that remain hidden because of fear, stigma, economic dependence, shame, threats, social pressure, lack of information, concerns about family breakdown or limited access to support services,” he said.

While women and girls bear a disproportionate burden of gender-based violence, Ncube stressed that men and boys are not spared. The experiences of male survivors, he added, “may remain hidden because of stigma, shame, fear of ridicule, harmful expectations around masculinity and limited access to appropriate support services.”

The commission wants every survivor, regardless of gender, to be able to reach information, protection, justice and referral services.

“A home should be a place of safety, dignity, love and respect not a place of fear,” Ncube said, arguing that preventing IPV was “not only about protecting individuals” but about “protecting children, strengthening families and safeguarding the future of our communities.”

The campaign, a multi-stakeholder effort bringing together government, civil society, development partners, the private sector, communities, the media, and faith-based and traditional leaders, will concentrate on five areas: public awareness and sensitisation; government and institutional engagement; enlisting men and boys as partners in prevention; working with faith and traditional leaders to promote peaceful homes; and building supportive and safe workplaces.

Ncube made clear the fight cannot be outsourced.

“Ending intimate partner violence cannot be left to the police, government, the commission, civil society or survivors alone,” he said, before rattling off a roll call of appeals.

“We call upon men and boys to reject violence and become champions of respectful relationships,” he said.

Women and girls were urged to know their rights and seek support; parents to teach children self-respect and peaceful conflict resolution; employers to set up safe referral mechanisms, and communities to report violence in line with domestic violence legislation rather than look the other way. The media was asked to report IPV accurately and ethically, without sensationalism.

The campaign is also pitched as a push to consolidate the High Level Compact to End Gender Based Violence and Harmful Practices in Zimbabwe (HLPC) 2021–2030, launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2021, of which the commission is a multi-stakeholder signatory.

Ncube said the compact’s roadmap aims at the complete eradication of sexual violence, child marriage and IPV by 2030, with an operational benchmark of a 20 to 30 percent cut in national prevalence of gender-based and intimate partner violence. It also seeks to move the GBV response away from a model she described as 90 percent donor-funded towards higher domestic financing through gender-responsive budgeting.