Women allegedly raped by the security forces during night raids to suppress recent protests have been urged to report their cases to the police.
The information minister said only one attack has been officially reported despite numerous allegations, the state-run Herald newspaper reports.
The BBC has spoken to six women who said they were raped by soldiers.
Correspondents say there is widespread mistrust of the police, who were also involved in the crackdown on protests.
The state-funded Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission has accused soldiers of using “systematic torture” in the crackdown on protests that broke out a fortnight ago following a more than doubling in fuel prices. It has strongly criticised the authorities for using troops to quell demonstrations.
The BBC spoke to six women who had sought refuge at a safe house about their experiences during the night-time door-to-door raids by the security forces.
One of the women said: “They slapped me, then said they want to have sex with me. When I refused, they slapped me again. The first soldier had unprotected sex with me. Then the other one said, ‘I want to do the same.'”
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the government did not condone and or tolerate “criminal behaviour by any member of society particularly those in…
