Zimbabwe Foundation for Abused Elders

Gender based violence and the abuse of older people is an issue affecting many elderly people in Zimbabwe. My elderly mother (72) is disabled from oestro-arthritis, and was evicted from her rural home which she had lived since 1956, by her eldest son in May this year. He is in a position of power (financial), and uses his financial resources to rally poor relatives to support him and humiliate my mother whenever she attends the court. She was prevented from harvesting her crops; and it was very hard to bring the case to the courts in Zimbabwe due to corruption and manipulation, had it not been for the intervention of a female police officer who appointed a dedicated team to investigate the matter. He tried to have her abducted by corrupt rural police officers. The case is being heard at the Harare Magistrate's court, and my mother has been attending the court since May, and to this day there is no clue when it will end. I would like to think that there are many elderly people out there who are being abused by their children or people of trust. I would therefore like you to join me in petitioning the Parliament of Zimbabwe to enact laws that protect vulnerable older people from abuse and punish perpetrators of violence against elderly people, especially their parents or grandparents. If you are Zimbabwean and are willing to help, please sign this petition. Thank you.

For more information visit www.zfae.org