By A Correspondent – Women working in Gweru’s informal sector are increasingly reporting cases of coercion, where municipal police and other men in authority demand sexual favours in exchange for vending space, protection from arrest, or the recovery of confiscated goods.

These revelations expose a disturbing pattern of abuse in Zimbabwe’s informal economy, where women — who now make up more than two-thirds of street vendors — remain vulnerable to exploitation despite their critical role in sustaining families and communities.

Gender and inclusion specialists describe vending spaces as “battlefields” plagued by police raids, extortion, theft, and sexual harassment. Among these abuses, sextortion has emerged as one of the most severe forms of exploitation, undermining women’s dignity and economic independence.

According to testimonies gathered from vendors, women are being forced into transactional sex to avoid arrest, secure trading rights in restricted areas, or recover goods seized during raids. This practice not only perpetuates corruption but also entrenches gender-based violence in the informal sector.

In response, the MWRAG has intensified its advocacy against the abuse of female vendors by both the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and municipal officers. The organisation has consistently condemned such practices, linking them to broader patterns of persecution and harassment of women in Masvingo and other urban centres.

MWRAG is calling for sextortion to be explicitly criminalised under both anti-corruption and gender-based violence laws, arguing that current legal frameworks fail to adequately protect women in the informal economy. The group stresses that accountability mechanisms must be strengthened to ensure perpetrators are held responsible, and survivors receive justice and support.