The church and the management of gender based violence in Mutoko, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study focused on the role of the church in the management and resolution of Gender Based Violence in Mutoko District. The study sample consisted of one hundred (100) respondents including church leaders, elders and lay members purposively selected from the two main church groups namely the Denominational and the Pentecostal. The study concluded that, the church was doing more awareness and advocacy of Gender Based Violence in the church than in the community, more rehabilitation activities for victims of Gender Based Violence in the church than in the community and refers more perpetrators of Gender Based Violence in the community for legal advice and to the police than for perpetrators in the church. The study however recommend that, the church should do more Gender Based Violence awareness and advocacy campaigns in the community, more rehabilitation activities for victims of Gender Based Violence in the community and  refer perpetrators of Gender Based Violence that are in the church for legal advice and to the police.

Key words: church, women, violence, gender, management