Final Evaluation: SPEAK IT LOUD (Zimbabwe)

Author(s)/editor(s)

George Zimbizi

Location: Zimbabwe

Grantee: Voluntary Services Overseas

Grant period: 1 January 2020 - 31 December 2022

Grant amount: USD 1,359,786

Authors/editors: George Zimbizi

Publication year: 2023

In Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Manicaland provinces in Zimbabwe, Voluntary Services Overseas in collaboration with Women and Law in Southern Africa implemented the three-year “SPEAK IT LOUD” project with the support of the UN Trust Fund under the Spotlight Initiative. Its objectives were to:

empower women’s rights groups and civil society organizations to deliver effective, inclusive and sustainable interventions to prevent and address cases of violence against women and girls;
strengthen the capacity of grassroots women’s groups to demand, influence and advance gender equality and women’s empowerment as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights;
eliminate sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices;
improve the women’s groups ability to monitor the quality of local services and participate actively in demanding accountability from duty bearers and decision makers for the prevention of and response to SGBV and harmful practices; and
enhance the networking, knowledge-sharing and visibility of women’s movements to influence behaviour and attitudes in relation to violence against women and girls.

Main findings of the evaluation:

The project reached 83% of its targeted beneficiaries, including women and girls with disabilities (4,150); women and girls living with HIV/AIDS (15,569); women and girl survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation (18,048); and women in detention (40).
The proportion of beneficiaries that acknowledged that harmful practices fuel sexual and gender-based violence in their respective communities increased from 31% to 60% during the project.
The project galvanized women’s rights groups to work together and speak as one voice in demanding their rights and accountability for gender-based violence service provision from duty bearers and policymakers.