WUNRN
SALC - Southern Africa Litigation
Centre
ZIMBABWE - SUPREME COURT HOLDS
GOVERNMENT LIABLE FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE RAPED WOMAN WITH EMERGENCY
CONTRACEPTION
Harare, 25 March 2014
– In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe ruled today that the
State was liable for failing to provide a rape survivor with emergency
contraception and ordered the government to pay damages.
“The Supreme Court judgment
is a significant victory for women’s sexual and reproductive rights in
Zimbabwe,” said Nyasha Chingore, project lawyer at the Southern Africa
Litigation Centre (SALC), which supported the case. “This ruling sends a clear
signal that it is time for the Zimbabwean government to prioritise the rights
of women, particularly the survivors of sexual and gender based violence – it
has failed them too many times in the past.”
The precedent-setting case
was launched by Mildred Mapingure, who was raped in 2006. She sought emergency
contraception within 72 hours to ensure that she did not become pregnant.
However, Mapingure failed to access the emergency contraception in time due to
delays at the police station, the police’s failure to provide her with proper
information, and a doctor’s inability to distinguish between termination of
pregnancy and emergency contraception.
Having failed to prevent
the pregnancy, Mapingure sought a lawful termination: as a victim of rape she
is eligible for an abortion under Zimbabwe’s Termination of Pregnancy Act. But
due to judicial delays, she was unable to obtain the necessary court order in
time and eventually gave birth.
The Court dismissed a
second claim arguing that the State was liable for failing to ensure a timeous
termination of pregnancy, and thus had to provide maintenance for the child.