The report of ‘Zero Tolerance’ to Sexual and Gender Based Violence’ campaign reveals that more than 9500 cases of SGBV were reported in 2018, but only 4004 have been brought to justice from 2016 to 2018.
Victims of SGBV in Kayanza province
The Zero Tolerance Campaign is the seventh of the 19 commitments made by the Heads of State of the member states of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region at the 4th Ordinary Summit held in November 2011.
“The Zero Tolerance campaign has led to a change in behavior against SGBV as revealed by community members,” the report says. However, the victims do not denounce the perpetrators because of limited means to find evidence and cultural solidarity.“Burundian culture hinders SGBV victims from denouncing perpetrators for fear of being stigmatized in the society,” says Béatrice Njebariko, the consultant who produced the report. She explains that some victims do not lodge complaints in order to protect the criminals who are often members of their families.
She recommends the Ministry of Justice to scientifically improve reliable legal evidence. She also calls on the population to break their cultural taboos in order to contribute to the eradication of SGBV.
The Minister of Justice reported on 16 April that 310 cases of SGBV were recorded in the first term of 2019.
IWACU Open Data
