Politically Motivated Violence against Women in Zimbabwe 2000-2010. A review of the public domain literature

Politically motivated violence (PMV) is defined as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate a government or the civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives. In Zimbabwe politically motivated violence dates as far back as the pre-colonial era. In the post-colonial era however, violence became much more pronounced and mostly centered on the struggle for political hegemony, and this period saw many Zimbabweans being exposed to all forms of violence particularly before, during and after elections. This report aims to see to what extent issues related to PMV against women have been profiled in the media. This was achieved through analysing all the reports documented on www.zimbabwesituation.com from January 2000 to December 2010, with a focus on women.