Capitalk Reporter/ Valeria Mhandu |  11 months ago | local

Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Dr. Sithembiso Nyoni, says economic empowerment of women is vital among a host of other measures in place to end gender-based violence among the usually vulnerable group.

Addressing a GBV knowledge sharing and learning symposium at a local hotel in Harare today, Dr. Nyoni said the purpose of the meeting was to have a special focus on measures that have worked in ending GBV and those that require improvement.

"We acknowledge that GBV, specifically violence against women and girls, remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations of our time." Women and girls are the main victims of GBV.

"It is also my strong belief that to effectively address violence against women, it is critical to address the root causes, in particular issues of economic empowerment of women, as a lack of it increases women and girls’ vulnerability," she said.

Dr. Nyoni said the documentation of best practices to end GBV is critical as it will be useful in informing future programming.