In Human Rights Day statement, watchdog links online harassment and gender-based violence to the erosion of democratic rights.
By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
HARARE— The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has identified a modern, insidious threat to the country’s electoral integrity: digital violence.
In a stark Human Rights Day statement, the prominent civil society group expanded the conversation on human rights violations to include the online harassment, intimidation, and gender-based abuse that increasingly plague election cycles.
Under the 2025 global theme “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essentials,” ZESN argued that for many, especially women and political activists, a safe digital environment is as crucial as a safe physical one for exercising democratic rights.
“Democracy is strengthened when every person can freely exercise their rights without… gender-based violence (GBV) including digital violence, harassment, intimidation, and other forms of coercive practices that may emerge during different stages of the electoral cycle,” the ZESN statement read.
This explicit mention underscores a growing crisis. Female candidates, journalists, and election observers have reported escalating waves of coordinated online trolling, doctored images, threat-filled direct messages, and sexist smear campaigns aimed at silencing their political participation.
“This is no longer just about insults in a newspaper. It’s about orchestrated campaigns on social media designed to instill fear, destroy reputations, and push women out of public life,” said Linda Ndlovu, a program officer with a local women’s rights coalition.
“When a young woman considering running for office sees what happens online to others, she thinks twice. That is a direct attack on democracy.”
ZESN’s framing positions this digital coercion as a direct violation of the human rights to participation, expression, and personal security.
The network calls on stakeholders—including government, political parties, and tech platforms—to proactively address these violations.
The call resonates with regional human rights instruments, such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which commits states to “create conducive conditions for civil society organizations to exist and operate within the law.”
Critics argue that a permissive environment for digital violence violates this spirit.
As Zimbabwe reflects on human rights fundamentals, ZESN’s warning makes clear: the frontline for protecting democratic participation has shifted, and the battle for a free and fair election is now being fought on smartphone screens as much as at polling stations.
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