Matabvu bags top gong

THE Sunday Mail Reporter Debra Matabvu (pictured) last week walked away with a top gong at the Gender-Based Violence Reporting Awards held in the capital.

The awards were hosted by Musasa Project in partnership with Spotlight Initiative, the United Nations Population Fund ( UNPFA) and Non-Governmental Organisations that tackle GBV.

Matabvu’s winning entry was an inspirational feature article on Dr Tererai Trent, a Zimbabwean-American gender-based violence survivor, who was married off at the age of 11.

Dr Trent defied odds to study and become a renowned educator.

She was named among the World’s Top 10 Most Inspiring Women “Sculpted for Equal Rights” and had her life-size bronze statue erected at the Rockefeller Centre in New York City, USA.

In a speech read on her behalf by Mrs Vidah Mashangwa, director of gender in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said it was important for journalists to report responsibly on gender-based violence.

“Journalists are important in the fight against gender-based violence as they inform the nation on the various ways of identifying and reporting violence.”

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Matabvu thanked The Sunday Mail Editor Mrs Victoria Ruzvidzo for appreciating, recognising and giving prominence to gender stories.

“Some editors and newsrooms do not take issues to do with gender and gender-based violence seriously and such stories are usually ignored,” she said.

“This is, however, not the case at my workplace.

“Such issues are given prominence. So I would like to thank my editor for helping me realise my dream.”