Abstract: There is a wide spread assumption that most people know their rights in Zimbabwean communities. This is evident when people are confronted with situations they perceive to be oppressive, it is not uncommon to hear them saying ‘You cannot do this to us, we know our rights very well’. Despite this clamoring about human rights, many violations occur with a lot of people failing to claim their rights. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the Gokwe central community towards the causes of human rights violations in the area. The main focus was on how people react when their rights are violated.