- Title
- Access to justice for female victims of crime: a study of girls and women with disabilities in Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe
- Creator
- Shumba, Nyaradzo Dorcas
- Subject
- Criminal justice, Administration of -- Zimbabwe
- Subject
- Women -- Crimes against
- Subject
- Victims of crimes
- Date
- 2021-09
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/22176
- Identifier
- vital:51994
- Description
- This thesis utilized a thematic content analysis, looked at how significant barriers affect Mashonaland Central girls and women living with disabilities as victims of crime from accessing justice. Zimbabwe is an optimal case to apply this study, due to its contradictory legislation and evidence of high rate of human rights violations. Mashonaland Central Province is an ideal case study due to the extant records that indicate that it has the highest incidences of violence against women. This study is therefore based in a Victimological epoch with the aim to fill the research gap in acknowledging the process of accessing justice as an important step for protecting and promoting human right. By analyzing interviews conducted with 3 different women aged 18-65 and 3 girls living with disability who were under the age of 18, through the theoretical framework of basic human rights theory and victim dynamics, this thesis contributes to the existing body of knowledge, with suggestions of how these barriers which are inclusive of societal and cultural structures tend to affect the respondents’ everyday lives and in a most pertinent manner towards their right to access justice. This thesis is also governed by the perspectives of key actors in the judicial process including but not limited to the Victim Friendly Unit. The theoretical framework is also operationalized into themes and criteria, which are then applied to analyze the conducted interviews. The emerging findings illuminate that there is a discrepancy between government policy surrounding girls and women living with disabilities and the practical experiences of the respondents. The respondents experienced a lack of accessibility to basic rights such as health care, the law, and to sex education – which are all rights ensured by government policy. Identified consequences included: discouragement in seeking justice due to fears of cultural and social stigma, discouragement in reporting crimes, and receiving adequate support, as well as information from secondhand sources. This study therefore concludes lack of access to justice is a violation of security of person, human dignity and rights to health and life to women and girls living with disability.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (297 leaves)
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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UFH Department of Criminology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | SHUMBA DORCAS THESIS.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |