IPS
BEFORE Zimbabwe imposed lockdown measures last March as part of global efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic, Grace Mashingaidze would attend workshops in Harare arranged by a nongovernmental organisation assisting trafficked women who had safely made it back home.
A survivor of trafficking, the 27-year-old Mashingaidze told IPS she joined a group of other young female survivors and had received assistance that ranged from counselling, psychosocial support and self-sufficiency skills. The latter was important as many of the young women struggled to earn an income in a country already suffocated by high levels of unemployment.
“It has been tough ever since we were told we could not attend the workshops and trainings because of the coronavirus. But you come to understand that safety first is a priority for everyone,” Mashingaidze told IPS.
“It has been tough ever since we were told we could not attend the workshops and trainings because of the coronavirus. But you come to understand that safety first is a priority for everyone,” Mashingaidze told IPS.
The coronavirus lockdown has meant her life is at a standstill when ideally she and other young women who are part of support group ought to be accessing much-needed help to deal with the trauma of human trafficking and also fend for themselves.
Mashingaidze, who said her ordeal took her as far Mozambique, has ambitions to educate herself and “do a course” that will help her provide for her three-year-old son.