Empowering Perpetrators and Letting Down Victims? Social Media and Gender-Based Violence in Zimbabwe During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article examines how digital technology, especially social media platforms, shaped the risk of gender-based violence (GBV) in Zimbabwe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Informed by the social identity model of deindividuation effects theory and based on both primary and secondary sources, it argues that the use of social media influenced GBV in Zimbabwe in both negative and positive ways. The study mainly found that positively, social media was used to raise awareness, report GBV cases, and mobilize social, financial, and emotional support, as well as sharing survival strategies by GBV survivors and those who support them. Negatively, the use of social media empowered online GBV perpetrators by awarding them anonymity. It also promoted and propagated multiple cases of GBV, and perpetuated gender inequality. Another negative effect is that social media was inaccessible to all victims of GBV. The article concludes that the relationship between social media and GBV remains strong and complex. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the opportunities offered by social media platforms in the fight against GBV and end the Zimbabwean experience during COVID-19 whereby social media empowered the perpetrators at the expense of the victims.

Plain Language Summary

How Social media affected Gender-based violence in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article examines how social media platforms affected gender-based violence (GBV) in Zimbabwe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It argues that the use of social media had a dual impact on GBV in Zimbabwe. The study mainly found that positively, social media was used to raise awareness, report GBV cases, and mobilize social, financial, and emotional support, as well as sharing survival strategies by GBV survivors and those who support them. Negatively, the use of social media empowered online GBV perpetrators by awarding them anonymity. It also promoted and propagated multiple cases of GBV, and perpetuated gender inequality. Another negative effect is that social media was inaccessible to all victims of GBV. The article concludes that the relationship between social media and GBV remains strong and complex. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the opportunities offered by social media platforms in the fight against GBV and end the Zimbabwean experience during COVID-19 whereby social media empowered the perpetrators at the expense of the victims.

Introduction

Gender-based violence (GBV), a widespread human rights violation concern that predominantly affects women, is broadly defined as any form of violence committed against one person of any gender as a result of gender inequality (Waterman et al., 2021, p. 974). It involves female genital mutilation, early marriages, ‘sexual threats, exploitation, humiliation, assaults, molestation, domestic violence, incest, involuntary prostitution (sexual bartering), torture, insertion of objects into genital openings and attempted rape’ (Thomas et al., 2013, p. 520). GBV is found in nearly every space women occupy and digital spaces have not been safe either. As the United Nations Broadband Commission (2015) reported, worldwide more than half of women online have been vulnerable to many forms of cyber attack, and over 8 million women in 28 European countries were exploited. In Zimbabwe, GBV entails not only issues to do with domestic violence, economic abuse, child marriages, and sexual harassment but also cyberbullying and online abuse in its varied forms (Zimbabwe Union of Journalists [ZUJ], 2016, p. 1). According to the Zimbabwe Demography and Health Survey 2015, approximately one out of every three women between 15 and 49 years old has encountered physical violence while roughly one out of every four women faced sexual violence starting at the age of 15 (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency and ICF International, 2016, p. 319). The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has not simply exacerbated the cases of GBV worldwide (UN Women, 2021). It also resulted in an increase in GBV in Zimbabwe, which expressed itself in a significant rise in cases of physical assault, psychological abuse, child marriages, and intimate partner violence (IPV) as well as online abuses mainly caused by socio-economic pressures (Gumbo, 2020; Stopping Abuse and Female Exploitation [SAFE] Zimbabwe, 2020; The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA], 2020).

Digital technology refers to a variety of technologies, devices, services, and applications that make use of different types of hardware and software, which ‘facilitate services or activities by electronic means to create, store, process, transmit and display information’ (Tulinayo et al., 2018, p. 1). Digital platforms such as social media are increasingly facilitating a range of violations mostly against women (UN Women and World Health Organisation, 2023, p. 3). For P. Mangena (2020, p. 12), Zimbabwean ‘women are exposed to online stalking, trolling, revenge pornography, sextortion, and many other related cybercrimes’. For clarity’s sake, this article focuses on the foregoing different forms of GBV facilitated by technology apart from the role of social media platforms in assisting victims of GBV committed both online and offline during COVID-19. It is vital to recognize the threat that social media poses to the risk of GBV because it creates a new space for ‘new forms of violence’ to thrive (O’Donnell & Sweetman, 2018, p. 217). Failure to acknowledge online GBV not only impedes action against it but also perpetuates these acts of violence mostly against women and girls.

The exact degree of internet penetration in Zimbabwe is difficult to establish due to its fluctuation owing to, among other reasons, socio-economic pressures. In December 2019, 8.4 million people out of the country’s then estimated 14 million people were using the internet translating to 56.5% (Ndlovu & Sibanda, 2022, p. 1062). This number declined to 5.01 million in 2021 partly as a result of the rise in the cost of data, migration, and a reduction in the number of people owning smartphones (Matsilele, 2022, p. 93). During the second quarter of 2022, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe’s (POTRAZ) sector performance report indicated that internet penetration was 61.3% compared to 62.9% that had been recorded in the first quarter (Karombo, 2022). WhatsApp is the dominant social networking site followed by Facebook and its total contribution of all mobile internet usage is over 44% (Ndlovu & Sibanda, 2022, p. 1062). Zimbabweans mainly rely on their mobile phones to access the internet (Mare, 2020, p. 4251).

Globally, studies show that digital technologies have facilitated different forms of abuses launched online, including but not limited to cyberbullying, revenge porn, hate crimes, trolling, stalking, and sexting (Lumsden & Morgan, 2018, p. 121). Evidence about this has been mainly provided from developed countries though efforts to document the same have just started in sub-Saharan Africa (Makinde et al., 2021). Before the coming of digital technology, these different forms of GBV were non-existent (Leitão, 2021; Woodlock et al., 2020). The emergence of digital technologies and their fusion into the composition of everyday life provide perpetrators endless ways to stalk, sequestrate, and control their victims (Barter et al., 2017; Snook & SafeLives, 2017). Still, it is recognized that digital spaces enable the building and connection of geographically far-flung and different communities with common interests. This chance to establish communities around common interests and experiences can help survivors by giving genuine spaces where they can feel vindicated and heard through a gathering of voice (Barter & Koulu, 2021).

Scholarly works on GBV in Zimbabwe mainly focus on its causes and drivers, forms, the role of awareness campaigns in fighting against GBV, and the effects of GBV on women’s empowerment and reproductive health (Chikwiri & Lemmer, 2014; Mutunami & Bradley, 2023; Rugoho & Maphosa, 2016; Waterman et al., 2021; Wekwete et al., 2014). The extant body of scholarly literature on social media in Zimbabwe has also primarily focused on its impact on politics (Hove & Chenzi, 2020; Karekwaivanane, 2019; Mujere & Mwatwara, 2016) and national security (Mugari, 2020; Mugari & Chisuvi, 2021). Other scholars have focused on how digital technologies have shaped journalist practices (Munoriyarwa, 2021; Munoriyarwa & Chiumbu, 2019; Ndlovu & Sibanda, 2022; L. A. Tshuma et al., 2022) while some discussed the dynamics of state directives to shut down the internet (Mare, 2020). An exception is Gudhlanga and Spiegel (2021) who focused on how women in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond mining area used social media to articulate their concerns and also mobilize for collective action against various injustices. Moreover, P. Mangena (2020) discussed the challenges faced by victims of online GBV, especially women, while Mafa et al. (2020) focused on the implications of revenge porn on women’s empowerment. This study was motivated by the existence of a few studies focusing on the different ways in which both the perpetrators and victims of GBV and their supporters have used social media in Zimbabwe.

Against this backdrop, there is value in documenting the existing practices and experiences of the relationship between GBV and social media in the Zimbabwean context during COVID-19. It is not just unique but also confirms and sometimes challenges established arguments on how social media affects GBV. This study sought to answer the question: how did the use of social media contribute to the increase or prevention of GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19? Its objectives were to: examine the main ways in which the use of social media contributed to the reduction of GBV and; analyze how the use of social media contributed to the increase of the risk of GBV during COVID-19 in Zimbabwe. In its discussion of the dual impact of social media on GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19, this article highlights the key challenges and opportunities offered by social media in the fight against GBV. It also identifies important lessons that could form the foundation for improving the use of social media to fight against GBV in the future. In this context, the article demonstrates some of the many ways, both positive and negative, through which social media platforms have shaped the risk of GBV in Zimbabwe. Beyond scholarship, this study’s findings are also important for policymakers to draw valuable insights to help them make relevant interventions to ensure that the use of social media in Zimbabwe contributes to the prevention rather than the increase of GBV.

The article proceeds as follows: It provides the theoretical framework informing the analysis in this study before briefly providing the methodology it used. After that, the article turns to the study’s results and their discussion. It articulates the positive and negative ways through which the use of social media has shaped GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19. Lastly, the article presents possible intervention strategies and the study’s limitations before ending with a conclusion.

Theoretical Framework

The fact that a strong and complex relationship between GBV and digital technologies exists points to the relevance of the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) theory (Postmes et al., 2001; Spears, 2017). The theory supports the notion that there is merit in examining how individuals discuss issues such as GBV, through social media platforms. SIDE is premised on the assumption that individuals normally behave in groups in ways that they normally do not do outside the group and that the online space permits social interface in a harmless setting (Postmes et al., 2001). This assumption reinforces the usefulness of analyzing the role of social media in shaping GBV.

A main empowering effect of online communication suggested by SIDE theory is that it undermines social boundaries, and as a result, allows individuals to take action, and make pronouncements far away from possibly harmful social norms and power inequalities (Postmes et al., 2001). This means that victims can come together and speak out their grievances about issues that are at times not easy to bring out (Postmes et al., 2001). The extent of depersonalization found in digital spaces also points to the potential for online communication being able to promote less-proscribed communications between individuals (Spears, 2017). Though this is not synonymous with genuine anonymity, the fact that social media platforms allow people to use fabricated names and identities points to the reduction of self-awareness on a personal level (Postmes et al., 2001; Spears, 2017).

In light of the above, SIDE represents an invaluable theory when looking at the possibility of social media as a means to not solely perpetrate but also challenge toxic gender practices and advocate social change. Social media may offer an essential risk-free space for women to express their disillusionment and challenge the prevailing state of affairs devoid of fear of reprisals. This is particularly important in those settings where women seldom get services from state-supported institutions via which to share their views and disappointments about GBV such as Zimbabwe. More so, digital technologies have also been instrumental in the provision of services to survivors of trauma (Gloor & Meier, 2020). Though these initiatives are sometimes criticized for being faceless and remote, they offer an accessible means of support for some people without the need for childcare and work commitments (Dragiewicz et al., 2021).

Social media platforms also come with negative implications for GBV. For instance, individuals are likely to digress from their personal individualized thoughts and become engrossed in those subscribed to by the online community. Additionally, scholars and practitioners have noted the prevalence of cases of online hate speech and offline violence, which reveals the reality of the destructive ways in which social media is also complicity in promoting GBV (Barter et al., 2017; Leitão, 2021; Lumsden & Morgan, 2018; Makinde et al., 2021; Woodlock et al., 2020).

Consistent with the foregoing, before the prevalence of digital technologies, a combination of factors such as the dominance of patriarchal social norms, poverty, and gender inequities were cited as the main causes and drivers of GBV in Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum & Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, 2011, pp. 3–4). Defined as male dominance of women in power relationships (Wood, 2019, p. 2), patriarchy is blamed for nearly every gender inequality that results in conflict in families, economic, public, and political spheres (Damba et al., 2013, p. 2). Patriarchy and its causal influence on GBV supersedes the virtual world created by social media. As O’Donnell and Sweetman (2018, p. 217) assert, ‘technology emulates the societies that use, design, access the innovations and extends to issues to do with gender, age, race, social status, and disability to mention just a few’. Through social media, ‘the social, economic, cultural and political structures and related forms of gender discrimination and patriarchal patterns that result in gender-based violence are reproduced, and sometimes amplified and redefined…while new forms of violence emerge’ (Garridor, 2022, p. 2). In Africa, online GBV ‘mimics real-world violence against women’ (Tsandzana et al., 2022, p. 8). In a study conducted in Zimbabwe’s town of Victoria Falls on the causes of and solutions to GBV, lack of respect for women was identified as one of its principal causes. The lack of respect is inextricably linked to pre-existing gender inequalities of lack of women empowerment stemming from the dominance of patriarchy in Zimbabwean society (Waterman et al., 2021, p. 976). Accordingly, though the coming of digital technology has been helpful to the fight against GBV, it also exacerbated the problem deriving from patriarchal practices.

Methodology

This article is the product of qualitative data. It adopted a case study research design to examine how the use of social media affected the risk of GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe. Its data were mainly gathered through documentary analysis and key informant interviews. The documentary analysis involved accessing and analyzing both academic and gray literature on how social media has been used to either reduce or promote GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe. The documentary analysis included consulting both private and public print and electronic newspaper articles, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reports, online platforms such as Facebook, and peer-reviewed works. Most of these documents and reports were mainly accessible online. The first step was choosing the documents relevant to the study guided by the research question and objectives. This was followed by conducting bias checks, taking notes, and ensuring that the documents came from authentic sources. The information gathered was organized into different categories, which became themes, according to how the use of social media affected GBV. The documentary sources were useful in helping to give the research context and frame the research and interview guide questions. They also assisted in providing additional insights valuable for the current study by comparing and contrasting evidence in other research findings with that of the current study. The documentary sources were also significant in compensating the research’s small sample.

The research conducted 10 key informant interviews in Harare between October and November 2022 to complement data from documentary sources. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques was used to recruit the key informants. Purposive sampling was employed to identify three male key informants aged between 35 and 50 from two civil society organizations dealing with GBV issues in Zimbabwe (1 from Heal Zimbabwe Trust, HZT 1, and two from Padare/Enkundleni/Men’s Forum on Gender, PEM 1 and PEM 2). These key informants were experts chosen for the wealth of knowledge they have about social media and GBV (Lokot, 2021, p. 1). They were key in elucidating their knowledge and experiences of the ways through which social media was used that contributed either to the increase or reduction of GBV during the COVID-19-induced lockdowns in Zimbabwe.

The remaining seven key informants were females aged between 25 and 48 who were recruited through a combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The snowball sampling technique was handy in accessing the first interviewees who in turn referred the researchers to other people to interview. It assisted in minimizing and addressing the challenges associated with finding, gaining access to, and selecting potential research participants (Cohen & Arieli, 2011, p. 423). Snowball sampling permitted the collection of data from the female key informants with personal experiences of how the use of social media exacerbated or decreased incidences of GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19. Again, snowball sampling encouraged the building of trust between the researchers and the informants owing to the introductions that were done through confidential social networks (Cohen & Arieli, 2011, p. 423). To avoid selection bias and limiting access to information from a network, the researchers purposely used more than one social network in recruiting the interviewees. Among other issues, most of the research participants belonged to one or more WhatsApp groups, which, in one way or the other, offered lessons, counseling, friendship, sometimes financial support, and a safe space for victims of past and ongoing GBV to speak out. In addition, snowball sampling enabled the researchers to reach out to two survivors of domestic violence who, among the others, used and experienced or witnessed the use of social media platforms, especially WhatsApp, in handling GBV. Therefore, the value of these female key informants rests in that they are insiders in possession of a combination of special and significant contextual knowledge on the topic (Lokot, 2021, p. 3). Though the sample remained small, the chosen research participants represent the wider population concerned with GBV and social media in Zimbabwe, which enriched the study’s completeness and some degree of national representativeness.

All the interviews were semi-structured and conducted face-to-face. Each time an informant was engaged, the researchers communicated the purpose of the interview and that participation was voluntary. The interviews for this article were recorded after each participant consented. After that, the interviews were then transcribed and coded. Considering the sensitive nature of the study, we have made use of pseudonyms to protect all the research participants. Put together, apart from interviews and online platforms, the data from NGO reports and the media was original and up-to-date. The triangulation of these different sources of data went a long way to ensure that its findings were trustworthy.

The collected data from both interviews and document analysis were analyzed and presented thematically whereby the identification, examination and recording of data patterns were carried out based on themes. The researchers conducted inductive data analysis moving from the general to the specific guided by the study’s themes that emerged from its central research question, objectives and theoretical framework as a starting point. This helped in arranging and integrating various findings and opinions from the document analysis. The data from interviews were also examined, coded, and analyzed using themes drawn from the positive and negative uses of social media regarding GBV. Despite some loopholes, this study’s methodology allowed the reasonable unpacking of the different ways through which social media shaped the fight against GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19.

Social Media and GBV in Zimbabwe During COVID-19

The main findings of this study are summarized in the infographic below (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

The dual impact of social media on gender-based violence in Zimbabwe during COVID-19.

Awareness Raising

A key positive way in which social media was used in the fight against GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19 is awareness raising. The fight against GBV benefited immensely through social media platforms’ ability to keep gender activists connected among themselves and the people they sought to help. Social media became the main medium of communication to raise awareness about GBV (KIE, personal communication, November 15, 2022). For example, a WhatsApp group initiative led by Rufaro Chakanetsa entitled: ‘Taking A Stand Against GBV’ was created as a platform bringing together men and women to raise awareness on GBV and make the voices of women and girls heard amid COVID-19 lockdowns in Zimbabwe (UN Women Zimbabwe, 2020). In 2020, Musasa Project, an NGO dealing with GBV issues in Zimbabwe, engaged in awareness raising both online and physically about available GBV services during the COVID-19 pandemic (United Nations Population Fund Zimbabwe, 2020).

Moreover, the usefulness of social media in awareness raising on GBV was shown through the work of Heal Zimbabwe Trust, a peacebuilding civil society organization that also works on GBV issues. It also came up with virtual dialog platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This helped communities in districts such as Buhera, Gutu, Zaka, and Makoni to come together to collectively discuss issues affecting them, including GBV, and how best they would address them. The virtual platforms equipped communities with relevant information on COVID-19, GBV, and human rights issues (Heal Zimbabwe Trust, 2020). The virtual dialog platforms facilitated by Heal Zimbabwe Trust went a long way in capacity building and raising awareness about GBV as well as linking communities to service providers starting at the village level to the national level (HZT 1, personal communication, October 20, 2022). Another civil society organization dealing with GBV issues, Padare/Enkundleni/Men’s Forum on Gender, also created WhatsApp groups based on its chapters across the country. These platforms assisted in raising awareness about GBV and the sharing of related pertinent information about available services to GBV victims during COVID-19 (PEM 1, personal communication, November 10, 2022; PEM 2, personal communication, November 10, 2022).

On its part, another NGO, the Legal Resources Foundation, made sure that GBV survivors knew where to access essential services during COVID-19. It did this through:

the digital messages on GBV which were disseminated through social media, legal education sessions disseminated through WhatsApp, webinars, online dialogues, the chatbot, and radio programmes as well as acting as a referral pathway to psychosocial support and medical services where victims of GBV would get comprehensive assistance and timely referral to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Victim Friendly Units (VFU). (Legal Resources Foundation, 2020)

In light of the above, the potential of social media as a useful tool in raising awareness, and sharing of important information about GBV and how to access the services available to survivors was displayed (Miller & Demirbilek, 2023).

The initiative of introducing online platforms to share and assist those with GBV issues during COVID-19 was commendable, especially from the victims’ perspective. As narratives from informants demonstrate, those who took heed of the advice and accessed the online services greatly appreciated the help from the group members. For example, an informant who survived domestic violence noted that she was grateful to a WhatsApp group where she learned about the availability of counselors from the Musasa Project. She reached out to one of them and received counseling online that helped her to address the source of domestic violence in her family. She intimated that:

I will never forget the advice I got in the process of counselling from Musasa during COVID-19. I was advised to start doing something to provide for my family. Rather than just sitting and expecting my husband to provide for me and my daughter, which was causing endless fights [domestic violence], I began venturing into online[WhatsApp] lessons for secondary school learners. I started teaching the children of the parents in the WhatsApp groups I belong[ed] where I advertised my services before the class grew to include others outside my social media networks. The fighting in my family ended because I was able to complement my husband’s efforts to provide for the family. (KIC, personal communication, October 31, 2022)

In sync with the above, another informant indicated that:

Our church [ZAOGA] pastors and counsellors opened several WhatsApp groups for married couples during the COVID-19 pandemic primarily to educate us on GBV and how to minimise the pressures at home that resulted in abuse, especially by men. I found the WhatsApp group platforms invaluable in that couples were given scenario cases to discuss. The exchange of ideas on how best to resolve issues without resorting to violence went a long way in changing how my husband and I normally handled our differences. (KIG, personal communication, November 25, 2022)

In this regard, the use of virtual platforms to share and assist those with GBV issues during COVID-19 in Zimbabwe revealed that social media was no longer thought of as just a complement but a substitute for traditional approaches to fighting GBV (Miller & Demirbilek, 2023, p. 98).

Easy Reporting of GBV Cases

Another main positive influence of social media in the fight against GBV, which was largely displayed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was facilitating easy reporting of GBV cases by victims or other concerned members of society on behalf of victims. Musasa’s 24-hr toll-free line, which enables the organization to interact with GBV victims at any time of the day including receiving reports about GBV cases from any part of the country proved very useful. In 2020, Musasa also increased its hotlines from one to four (all the mobile networks in the country). This immensely assisted GBV survivors to be able to ‘call in and access GBV services on the call’ in the face of lockdowns. Among other restrictions, the lockdowns prevented people from traveling and stopped public transport services (United Nations Population Fund Zimbabwe, 2020). The Musasa hotlines were ‘managed by specialized counselors who provide[d] remote psychosocial support through voice, text and/or WhatsApp– to survivors’ (United Nations Population Fund Zimbabwe, 2020).

The above initiative by Musasa was very important in assisting GBV victims because COVID-19 and related lockdown measures instituted by the government to curb it resulted in a rise in GBV cases. As Magezi and Manzanga (2020, p. 2) noted, during the early days of the national lockdown from 30 March 2020 to 3 June the same year a total of 2,276 GBV calls were recorded on the national GBV line of Musasa. By December 2020, Musasa had answered about 7,000 calls made principally by women on its national GBV hotline registering a 40% increase compared to 2019 (Matiashe, 2021). Informed by the success of Musasa’s initiative, Magezi and Manzanga (2020, p. 7) advocated for the clergymen to use online platforms such as Zoom to conduct counseling sessions for victims of GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar observations were made by Khosa-Nkatini and Mofokeng (2023) in South Africa owing to the increase of GBV targeting women during COVID-19.

Social media also assisted the fight against GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19 by facilitating instant alerts. According to Stopping Abuse and Female Exploitation (SAFE) Zimbabwe (2020), virtual platforms including but not limited to phone calls, WhatsApp, and short message services (SMS) facilitated the reporting of violence to NGOs dealing with GBV issues during COVID-19. For instance, between March and April 2020, Musasa virtual helpdesks received reports 20 times more than they received in the 2 months before COVID-19 (Stopping Abuse and Female Exploitation [SAFE] Zimbabwe, 2020, p. 2). Taking a cue from Musasa, ‘the Gender Commission implemented an online and telephonic reporting and case management system’ (EndGBV, 2023). Similarly,

In June 2021, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa announced the establishment of a toll-free national GBV helpline…a joint project between the Zimbabwe Republic Police Victim Friendly Unity (VFU) and several service providers, mainly from civil society. The helpline is a confidential reporting mechanism for victims and survivors to connect to the VFU or alternative counselling services. (EndGBV, 2023)

In this regard, ‘virtual helpdesks do[did] not only help women in reporting violence but also men who want[ed] to report violence but do[did] not feel empowered to report at women’s organizations or organizations that predominantly serve[d] women’ (SAFE Zimbabwe, 2020, p. 27). Beyond Zimbabwe, similar efforts to mitigate GBV amid COVID-19 remotely using technology-based initiatives proved important though gaps and challenges existed (Emezue, 2020).

Consistent with the empowering effect of online communication suggested by the SIDE theory discussed above, social media made Zimbabweans less fearful of reporting abuse at a time when there was a sharp growth in the occurrence of GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic. This significance of digital technologies, especially social media platforms, in the reporting of GBV cases was noted by all the key informants in this study. For instance, an informant from Padare pointed out that the anonymity of cyberspace accommodates victims who can make known GBV issues they cannot easily report to the police either because the perpetrator is always around or is an influential person (PEM 2, personal communication, November 10, 2022). A good example showing this value of social media was revealed when ‘anonymously leaked evidence of sexual scandals’ against Vice President Kembo Mohadi resulted in his resignation in 2021 (he was reappointed in 2023; Gudhlanga & Spiegel, 2021, p. 378). Accordingly, social media empowered Zimbabwean GBV victims, especially women, by enabling them to speak in situations where they would have remained silent if there had been no technology during COVID-19. This dovetails into Alaggia and Wang’s (2020) observation that social media offers new opportunities for GBV survivors to disclose their suffering from various abuses.

Support System for GBV Survivors

The mobilization of social, financial, and emotional support and sharing of survival strategies among GBV survivors and other members of society was also made easy by social media during COVID-19. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, several NGOs dealing with GBV issues in Zimbabwe offered counseling services remotely while some provided mobile services (SAFE Zimbabwe, 2020, p. 18). According to Rotina Mafume Musara, the advocacy and communications officer for Musasa, ‘by end of 2020, Musasa had helped some 40,000 women via its hotline as well as shelters, mobile clinics, social media sites, and legal assistance centers’ (Matiashe, 2021). In the same vein, a key informant from Padare noted that his organization also offered counseling services via WhatsApp and phone calls during the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that:

The offering of counselling services remotely was welcomed by many men in need of Padare’s services even after the COVID-19 cases had subsided because those who cannot afford to or are incapable of physically visiting the organisation’s offices for various reasons continue to get counselling and related services online. (PEM 1, personal communication, November 10, 2022)

The foregoing expose reveals the empirical reality of social media not being utilized to blame and victimize but to provide support and solidarity (Locke et al., 2018, p. 3). It also confirms the empowering effect of SIDE theory and the idea that when NGOs channel their counseling services online they create a more inclusive platform that accommodates those women or men whose spouses do not allow them to leave the confines of their homes to seek help.

Similar views were also shared by a key informant from the Heal Zimbabwe Trust. This organization’s virtual platforms facilitated the sharing of experiences and pathways to legal aid and related services for GBV survivors. The virtual platforms also made information about the civil society organization’s Anti-GBV Ambassadors and assistance to women GBV survivors easily accessible. The discussions held on virtual platforms were also joined by other Zimbabwean women as far afield as the United Kingdom (HZT 1, personal communication, October 20, 2022). In this context, the positive influence of social media platforms on GBV during COVID-19 in Zimbabwe was not limited to the solidarity expressed virtually. Online solidarity also developed into offline support. For instance, ‘the sharing of a GBV case on the Heal Zimbabwe Trust-initiated WhatsApp groups resulted in physical support when the affected person was referred to local childcare workers, village health workers, and VFU contact persons’ (HZT 1, personal communication, October 20, 2022). This not just reinforces SIDE theory and the notion that social media can provide ordinary citizens with a productive discursive space to articulate issues that affect them (Gudhlanga & Spiegel, 2021; Gukurume, 2017). It is also consistent with the observation that though online initiatives to assist GBV survivors suffer from being faceless and remote, they are instrumental in the provision of services to GBV survivors without them worrying about work commitments or childcare (Dragiewicz et al., 2021; Gloor & Meier, 2020).

Similarly, many key informants with experience in sharing GBV issues on WhatsApp groups noted that women from different parts of the country and even outside felt free to share their GBV experiences, advice, and emotional and financial support (KIA, personal communication, October 20, 2022; KIB, personal communication, October 28, 2022; KIC, personal communication, October 31, 2022; KID, personal communication, November 8, 2022; KIE, personal communication, November 15, 2022; KIG, personal communication, November 25, 2022). Women exchanged experiences and got advice, counseling services, and both emotional and financial support depending on one’s situation. In terms of financial mobilization, many informants shared that group members sent the affected member money, especially in cases where one has been left by the husband without money for rent, food to eat, or give to children (KIA, personal communication, October 20, 2022; KID, personal communication, November 8, 2022; KIE, personal communication, November 15, 2022; KIG, personal communication, November 25, 2022). In other instances, three key informants shared that their WhatsApp group platforms had selected days in which they provided members with the opportunity to market their goods and services to help them grow their sources of livelihood (KID, personal communication, November 8, 2022; KIE, personal communication, November 15, 2022; KIF, personal communication, November 28, 2022). One informant, a survivor of domestic violence, who was assisted by this initiative was highly appreciative. She indicated that:

The marketing opportunities in our WhatsApp group helped me to rebuild my life. I did not have anyone to borrow me some money to start a business. I only got the money from different people on the WhatsApp group after I shared how my abusive husband left me without anything to give to my three children. Now I am making a living and sending my children to school through selling cosmetic products, which I started on the WhatsApp group platform during COVID-19. (KIF, personal communication, November 28, 2022)

The foregoing reinforces the view that social media promotes the establishment of communities around common interests and experiences, which help GBV survivors by giving genuine spaces where they can feel vindicated and heard through a gathering of voices (Barter & Koulu, 2021). The Zimbabwean experience reveals the usefulness of social media in making GBV felt and recognized as a result of speaking out on digital platforms (Mendes et al., 2019). It is also in sync with the observation that the disclosure of GBV online permits survivors to share their experiences and produce a platform for searching for informal forms of justice, which are survivor-focused and go a long way in meeting their needs and aspirations (Yalcinoz-Ucan & Eslen-Ziya, 2024).

Various social media platforms have been useful for sharing GBV survival strategies and mobilizing for both material and mutual support during COVID-19. All the key informants indicated the significance of social media platforms, especially WhatsApp, through the sharing of personal experiences, discussions, and ideas about how best to handle GBV issues. A number of both men and women have been assisted after sharing their stories on social media platforms. For instance, a key informant from Padare noted that engagements on social media resulted in the prevention of suicide by a Mutare man who was facing marital problems. Additionally, an Epworth man who caught his wife in an intimate relationship with another man was also assisted through social media resulting in him handling his case without resorting to physical violence (PEM 2, personal communication, November 10, 2022). The case of Anna Machaya, a 15-year-old who died in July 2021 while giving birth, also highlighted the importance of online activism about GBV issues. Her story was awash on both social and mainstream media platforms in Zimbabwe and beyond. This resulted in the arrest of the perpetrators of GBV (the husband and Anna Machaya’s parents were later arrested) and the government’s carrying out of some policy changes (Girls Not Brides, 2021; Mugugunyeki, 2021; Thondhlana, 2022). The government realigned the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:15), which, among other issues, now stipulates that it is a criminal offense to facilitate the marriage of children below 18 years. Almost similar to how Twitter was used in India after the gang raping of a young woman in 2012 (Gurman et al., 2018), the potential to use social media for strategic engagement of both men and women expressing their views concerning GBV and calling for social change was doubtlessly displayed.

Put together, the above positive contributions of social media in the fight against GBV are contrary to those scholars (e.g., Chiweshe, 2017) who caution that social media risks alienating people from real-world engagements in Zimbabwe. The fact that online activities also resulted in tangible offline developments that positively impacted women GBV survivors is in sync with SIDE theory and those scholars (Gudhlanga & Spiegel, 2021; Gukurume, 2017) who have observed that social media can offer ordinary citizens a productive discursive space to articulate issues that affect them. By allowing citizens to interact and engage on critical societal concerns that affect them with proceedings reaching beyond their closest participants culminating in correcting structural issues such as the law mentioned above, social media (alongside mainstream media) platforms largely acted as public spheres in a complex environment. This shows the continued relevance of the work begun by Habermas (1996) on the existence of public spheres, which others have further developed to accommodate developments even in non-democratic societies and in the digital era (Eisenegger & Schäfer, 2023; Papacharissi, 2009). It is doubtless that social media platforms, especially WhatsApp, were meaningfully used by women GBV survivors to adapt, share experiences, and build solidarity in Zimbabwe during COVID-19. The discussion now turns to the negative ways in which social media affected the risk of GBV in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Increasing Forms of GBV

Among the main adverse influences of social media in the fight against GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19 was its promotion and propagation of multiple types of GBV. Several reports on GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe pointed out increasing cases of physical assault, psychological abuse, child marriages, and IPV, as well as cases of online abuse (Gumbo, 2020; OCHA, 2020; SAFE Zimbabwe, 2020). Most key informants also indicated that women were facing verbal and emotional threats and the risk of more abuse such as revenge porn during COVID-19 (PEM 2, personal communication, November 10, 2022; KIA, personal communication, October 20, 2022; KIB, personal communication, October 28, 2022; KIC, personal communication, October 31, 2022; KID, personal communication, November 8, 2022; KIE, personal communication, November 15, 2022; KIG, personal communication, November 25, 2022). Revenge porn has been described as ‘cases where jilted former partners or boyfriends post nudes, names or addresses of former partners’ (Makhalemele, 2021). The Zimbabwean experience supports the conclusion that GBV was a twin pandemic to COVID-19 (Dlamini, 2021). Beyond Zimbabwe, it was also observed that women in Indonesia experienced social media-facilitated GBV during COVID-19 predominantly perpetrated by people they had or still have relations with such as relatives, friends and boyfriends (Jatmiko et al., 2020).

The Zimbabwean experience reinforces the view that digital technologies, especially social media, have given rise to new types of GBV while also perpetuating some cultural norms that support gender inequalities (O’Donnell & Sweetman, 2018, p. 217; Shelton et al., 2021). As an example, one woman broke up with her boyfriend who subsequently ‘declared that no other man would marry her and thereafter went on to share her intimate nude pictures of her on Facebook and WhatsApp’ (Tsandzana et al., 2022, p. 65). Another case that occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic is that of Lorraine Guyo, now a socialite who gained popularity after posting a video about her lack of a Valentine’s Day date. This resulted in the leaking of several of her nude pictures that circulated on WhatsApp (Matsengarwodzi, 2019). One other example was of a young girl from Norton who attempted suicide after experiencing cyberbullying over leaked revenge porn (Zimbabwe AntiCyber Bullying Trust [ZACBT], 2022). These online GBV victims suffered psychosocial problems from subjection to hate speech, harassment, and threats, which took a toll on their mental state. A key informant also noted the existence of depression and suicide cases as a result of online GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic (PEM 1, personal communication, November 10, 2022). Similarly, P. Mangena (2020, p. 29) argues that women face more brutal backlash from friends, relatives, and other interested parties when revenge pornographic material leaks. Women in revenge porn videos are victims of demeaning terms such as ‘prostitutes, ugly and rotten’, while men are given ‘hero statuses’ and terms such as ‘champions’ are used to describe them (P. Mangena, 2020, pp. 29–37). This is fueled by the patriarchal influences that place women as inferior. This means that women in Zimbabwe during COVID-19 experienced GBV differently from men both online and offline owing to the harmful patriarchal norms.

Perpetuating Gender Inequality

The perpetuation of some cultural norms that reinforce rather than weaken gender inequalities was another main negative influence of social media in the fight against GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19. Since time immemorial, media has played a central role in shaping the perceptions, and values as well as establishing the code of conduct concerning an issue (Katembo, 2015, p. 67). Even before COVID-19 social media platforms had already become the purveyors of a set of ‘myths’ that perpetuated trolling and verbal abuse against women and girls online in comment sections in Zimbabwe. Some of these myths include that women exaggerate and falsify abuse, women and girls can easily leave their abuses, and women’s clothing is a crucial factor that leads to abuse. This downplays gender inequalities and culture’s contribution toward GBV (ZUJ, 2016, p. 4).

The Zimbabwean experience during COVID-19 reveals that social media has not purely been used to justify GBV acts through observation of some aspects of culture looking down upon women. It was also ‘used to pass wrong information and perpetrators used it to set the agenda of a GBV case in which they targeted exonerating themselves’ (KIB, personal communication, October 28, 2022). As one key informant noted, ‘the fact that everyone assumes the role of an expert advising on social media makes it difficult for those in need of assistance to separate good from bad advice’ (KID, personal communication, November 8, 2022). For instance, people may discourage someone from seeking assistance when she is staying with an abusive husband. In such a case, people do not sympathize with the victim but try to turn the blame on the abused woman by asking questions like you cannot be simply beaten without doing something that angers your husband. In some instances, women are encouraged to stay with their abusive husbands under the pretext that every woman is beaten by her man, which is a sign of love, and the abused should be strong and tolerate the abuse (Matiashe, 2021). This is consistent with Mafa et al.’s (2020) view that revenge porn facilitated by social media is gender biased and largely affects women’s empowerment prospects. The ripple effects of GBV facilitated by social media are far-reaching because research shows that the level of women’s economic empowerment determines the likelihood of experiencing GBV (Bengesai & Derera, 2021).

Apart from female politicians, female human rights activists have also been prone to a range of online GBV in Zimbabwe such as name-calling, online harassment, threats, and cyberbullying based on the patriarchal norms that women have a certain place in society (Tsandzana et al., 2022, p. 11; T. Mangena, 2021). For Mafa et al. (2020), digital technologies have reinforced patriarchal belief systems resulting in the normalization of the non-consensual sharing of intimate images by disgruntled former male partners following a fallout with their girlfriends. Akin to mainstream media, social media’s coverage and framing of GBV in Zimbabwe, portrays a narrative mainly rooted in the cultural beliefs of patriarchy and ‘blames’ women and shields the perpetrator (ZUJ, 2016, p. 4). A study conducted before COVID-19 on the impact of Zimbabwean media on trends of IPV between 2005 and 2015 found that 40% of female and one-third of male participants were not opposed to the corporeal reprimand of women by their husbands (Iman'ishimwe Mukamana et al., 2020). This displays that both social media and mainstream media sometimes perpetuate harmful social norms hinged on patriarchy that feed into GBV both online and offline. This dovetails with the view that social media simply reproduces and at times increases as well as redefines GBV depending on the way society adopts and uses it (O’Donnell & Sweetman, 2018, p. 217; Garridor, 2022, p. 2). In this context, the patriarchal nature of the Zimbabwean society resulted in the adoption and usage of social media in ways that have perpetuated gender inequality and increased and redefined GBV. This supports research that argues that pre-existing inequalities in developing countries contributed to particular risks and vulnerabilities such as GBV largely experienced by women during COVID-19 (Al-Ali, 2020; Dziva et al., 2021).

Empowerment of Perpetrators of Online GBV

Though the anonymity of cyberspace also accommodates victims who can make known GBV issues through easy reporting to relevant service providers, as discussed above, social media also increases the risk of GBV by awarding the same anonymity to the perpetrator. How social media empowers the perpetrator at the expense of the victim was revealed through a case of revenge porn that occurred in late 2022. Rodger Tafadzwa Kadzime (DJ Levels) allegedly leaked a sex tape and nude pictures of his former girlfriend, Ashleigh Shashl Moyo, after they broke up but went on to claim that he was not responsible. His phone, the only source he had stored the nude pictures, was stolen resulting in the leakage (Moyo, 2022). This poses a serious challenge on how to mitigate the proliferation of online GBV. As O’Donnell and Sweetman (2018, p. 223) observed, the violence carried out online creates the impression that it is less risky because it is done from a distance, which lessens empathy for the victims. Here, the empowering effect of SIDE theory works in favor of the perpetrator rather than the weak part with far-reaching implications for the proliferation of online GBV and concomitant effects on its victims. This is in sync with Alaggia and Wang’s (2020) conclusion that while social media offers new opportunities for GBV survivors to disclose their suffering from various abuses, obstacles remain.

Zimbabwe has hitherto experienced several cases demonstrating how digital technologies have presented a challenge to legal systems. According to P. Mangena (2020, p. 15), social media poses a challenge in curbing GBV since it does not provide ‘expert witnesses’ to attest to online harassment. For instance, the first recorded Zimbabwean case of online gendered abuse (cyberbullying) was in 2014 before COVID-19, popularly known as the ‘The Makumbe Case’, in Chiredzi. It prompted the advocacy for new laws after the judiciary system failed to incriminate the perpetrator, Elton Makumbe, of GBV, since the law did not stipulate how to deal with online GBV cases (Phiri, 2014). A similar challenge recurred in 2017 in the Mushunje case where Tafadzwa Mushunje was, among other issues, falsely accused of injecting her boyfriend’s child with her HIV-infected blood. She was at the receiving end of severe online abuse ranging from derogatory language to death threats (Mushunje versus Zimbabwe Newspapers, HH 47-17, HC 2580/16, 2017). In an interview posted on the Zimbabwe Anti-Cyber Bullying Trust (ZACBT) Facebook page, Mushunje noted that after she received several threats she sought police assistance but they were not informed on how best to assist her with dealing with the perpetrators of online GBV. As suggested by SIDE theory, some degree of anonymity offered to online GBV perpetrators coupled with the depersonalization found in digital spaces encourages them to engage in proscribed communications between individuals with dire consequences for the victims. Social media continues to pose serious challenges in fighting against GBV because online GBV appears impersonal and detached from the traditional forms of abuse and this is not unique to Zimbabwe (Emezue, 2020). In the Zimbabwean context, this is exacerbated by the country’s laws and law enforcement agencies that are yet to be fully adjusted and reoriented to assist and support victims of online GBV. In this light, the need to ensure that there is criminal liability for people who commit technology-assisted GBV has been observed even beyond Zimbabwe (Krylova et al., 2022).

Unequal Access to Social Media by GBV Survivors

Another main drawback of social media in the fight against GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19 was its inaccessibility to all victims of GBV. While social media was easily accessible to urban women and girls whether in disseminating information on GBV or reporting cases by victims, the rural populace and people living with disabilities were highly discriminated against in terms of connectivity and education about using social media (internet; SAFE Zimbabwe, 2020, p. 6). For instance, the case study of Victoria Falls carried out by E. A. Waterman et al. (2021) clearly shows the gap that digital technologies bring in critical issues such as GBV. Before the advent of social media and the ‘new forms of GBV’ the Victoria Falls population, like the majority of Zimbabweans, lacked knowledge of presumably simple but critical information in the fight against GBV. Similarly, SAFE Zimbabwe noted that:

the increased use of social media excludes poorer women who are less likely to own or have access to a mobile phone, especially because the prices of data have spiked. Most reports of VAWG[violence against women and girls] are from women in urban areas and very few from women in rural areas. (2020, p. 23)

Thus, one key lesson drawn from the Zimbabwean experience during COVID-19 is that social media risks widening the gap between the rural majority populace and urbanites in the fight against GBV. This affirms Salter’s (2013) argument that though social media has fruitfully offered counter-hegemonic discourses about GBV to the extent of shaping traditional media coverage and court outcomes, its potential is still limited by girls and women’s lack of equal access to the advantages presented by online networks and activists. This viewpoint concurs with Fraser’s (1990) feminist criticism of Habermas (1989) initial theory of the public sphere, which failed to acknowledge the continued restriction of women to the private sphere. Without giving both rural and urban women the necessary assistance, in this case access to the internet, to enable them to participate in discussions that affect them, no genuine public sphere exists for them. As such, the use of social media to fight against GBV in Zimbabwe without addressing issues relating to mobile phone ownership, internet access, and affordability is likely to continue excluding a majority population immensely affected by GBV both online and offline.

Also noteworthy is that the importance of digital technologies, especially social media, in GBV prevention amid COVID-19 in Zimbabwe did not go beyond reporting. The Zimbabwean experience during the COVID-19 national lockdowns resulted in courthouses being closed and hearings and rulings for offenders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were postponed (Judicial Service Commission, 2020; M. Tshuma, 2021). This means that the country’s failure to fully leverage digital technology, which allows for the flexibility of anti-GBV service provision, especially judicial services and protection for the victims partly contributed to the worsening of the GBV crisis in Zimbabwe during the pandemic. This was different from India and the United States of America which offered online telephone services, which proved very helpful. The two countries extended their National Domestic Violence Hotline services to include online chat services for victims and judicial court proceedings for GBV cases became cyber-based (Mittal & Singh, 2020, p. 4). Similar online courts were also adopted in Rwanda (Kuteesa, 2022). Though the Zimbabwean experience shares a lot with many countries during the early days of COVID-19, there was a need to adopt virtual and remote court proceedings to handle GBV cases and other crimes as done in other countries (Emezue, 2020). Consequently, the need for governments to heavily invest in information and communication technologies (ICTs) infrastructure to ensure the continued delivery of services and assistance to GBV survivors in future pandemics has been observed (Ostadtaghizadeh et al., 2023).

Possible Intervention Strategies

First, most of the solutions found by GBV survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe came from individuals and NGOs rather than established public systems of support. Although this is important and welcome, it is doubtless that there is a need for more comprehensive solutions designed to ensure that the usage of digital platforms helps to prevent rather than exacerbate GBV, especially in times of disasters. Systemic restructuring is needed to, among other issues, address the lack of accountability where social media awards anonymity to perpetrators. Ensuring that there is accountability will also help law enforcement agencies to easily identify and apprehend perpetrators of online GBV, which has hitherto been made difficult by a lack of consolidation of the country’s legislation. The restructuring of existing anti-GBV legislation to accommodate the emerging online abuses, inclusive of education and awareness campaigns about online GBV facilitated by digital technologies will go a long way in mitigating the negative use of social media to promote and propagate multiple cases of GBV. Again, the adoption of online courts or the development of contingency plans during pandemics such as COVID-19 to ensure that citizens’ access to judiciary services is not disrupted will go a long way in reducing the occurrence of GBV. Citizens’ interrupted access to judiciary services during the COVID-19 in Zimbabwe partly contributed to the worsening of GBV cases.

Second, investing in ICTs is a necessary step required to ensure that social media is accessible to all citizens and its related benefits in the fight against GBV. Without ignoring the double-sided nature of their use, unequal access to digital technologies, especially social media platforms, has proved to be a huge disservice to those deprived of access to them. Lastly, using social media platforms to engage and promote women’s empowerment and gender equality issues can go a long way in undoing their negative usage to perpetuate cultural norms that reinforce gender inequalities offline that are usually taken to virtual platforms thus sustaining GBV. This is informed by the fact that social media during COVID-19 proved to be a potent force for the convenient sharing of problems related to GBV and also mitigation measures and solutions.

Limitations

The current study’s contribution rests in its effort to document existing practices and experiences of the relationship between GBV and social media in the Zimbabwean context during COVID-19 thereby confirming and sometimes challenging established arguments on how social media affects GBV. It also complements the few studies focusing on different ways in which both the perpetrators and victims of GBV and their supporters have used social media in Zimbabwe. Still, the study’s limitations lie in its research design and methodology. The case study research design lessens the generalizability of this study’s findings. The study’s heavy reliance on documentary sources and a small sample of key informants points to the need for future studies to increase the sample size. Future studies need to broaden research participants to capture the varied experiences of both men and women about how digital technologies, especially social media, have shaped GBV issues in Zimbabwe so that important and more nuanced narratives emerge. This can be done through employing cyber ethnography (netnography; Chiweshe, 2017) to observe and experience the online sharing and discussions of GBV issues by both men and women and the different service providers on different social media platforms. Overall, future studies on social media and GBV in Zimbabwe may delve into how the use of digital technologies have contributed to gender inequality and concomitant GBV issues.

Conclusion

This article augments extant academic works on both GBV and social media in Zimbabwe, which have hitherto largely shied away from focusing on how social media platforms have been used resulting in the rise or prevention of GBV during COVID-19. Informed by SIDE theory, the article demonstrates that a strong and complex relationship exists between digital technology and GBV. Social media had both negative and positive influences on the risk of GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19. On the one hand, the positive ways in which social media influenced GBV in Zimbabwe during COVID-19 include raising awareness, reporting GBV cases, and mobilizing social, financial, and emotional support for GBV survivors and sharing survival strategies. On the other hand, social media negatively shaped GBV in that it awarded anonymity to perpetrators, promoted and propagated multiple cases of GBV, was inaccessible to all victims of GBV, and perpetuated some cultural norms that strengthened gender inequalities. The empirical evidence clearly shows that social media can simultaneously function as a support system for GBV victims and a cloak of anonymity for the perpetrators, which exacerbates the frequency of GBV incidents with far-reaching implications on access to support by some victims. Theoretically, the findings of this study reinforce those scholars who have observed the potential of digital technologies to empower GBV survivors and those who support them (Cookson et al., 2023; Faith, 2022; Gurman et al., 2018). Again, the dual-edged nature of the use of digital technologies demonstrated in this article exposes the empirical reality of the theoretical arguments made at the beginning of the paper concerning the use of social media resulting in the rise or prevention of GBV. It also reinforces Fraser’s (1990) feminist critique of the limits of Habermas (1989) foundational theory of the public sphere, which ignored the continued restriction of women to the private sphere. In this case, most women, especially in rural Zimbabwe, remain largely left out of the public spheres concerning GBV owing to the restrictions imposed by lack of access to the internet.