As cases of gender based violence (GBV) are rising in the country, the church is not being spared with some religious leaders such as pastors and prophets among the perpetrators using bible verses.
Masvingo province joined the rest of the country in commemorating 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence at the Masvingo Civic Centre Hall where it emerged that some victims of GBV were suffering in silence in churches as some of the leaders were misusing bible texts to abuse them.
Speaking during the event, Pastor Ivy Gavumende of Building Bridges Zimbabwe Trust (BBZT) said one of the most abused verses in churches was Psalms 105:15 “Touch not my anointed ones, And do my Prophets no harm” which has resulted in many cases of violence going unreported.
“Even in the churches, people are being abused because as has been said by other presenters, you cannot look at a person and easily tell that this one is a perpetrator of violence. In the churches, some are misusing verses and one of the verses is “Touch not my anointed ones” and so people will start saying “don’t talk much of the pastor because he is the anointed one.”
At times pastors can be perpetrators of GBV to the young girls and boys using these verses and they do not report them anywhere because they will be told “touch not the anointed one lest you be cursed,”” she said.
Pastor Gavumende said as representatives of the church, they were also calling for an end to GBV as some of the victims were congregants and it was the duty of pastors to offer them counselling services. — New Ziana
