Zambia: Gender-Based Violence Continues Unabated

By Lilian Museka

LUSAKA---Tina* is an editor at one of the leading radio stations in Zambia. She reports to work very early in the morning and leaves very late.  She has been leaving in harmony with her husband and children for the last 10 years.

However, last month, things changed. Her husband started questioning her coming late to the house, despite him being aware of the job she does.

“You will have to choose between your marriage or your job,” Tina narrated how the husband had demanded that she stops working. The man beat and threw her out of the house asking her to go spend the night at “work”.

“It is not the first time he’s beating me. I have had to seek for medical attention. In fact right now I’m staying at my parents’ place and at my age with big children, it’s against out customs,” she said amid sobs. She was however adamant that she would not stop working.

“I have been doing this job for the last 8 years and for someone to beat me up and demand that I stop working is unrealistic. I am however not sure how to address this because I can’t even talk about it to anyone. Despite the fact that I am a journalist and woman who champions for women’s rights, I have failed to address my own problem”, she said.

Tina is one of the many survivors of gender based violence across the world, who face abuse by their husbands but have not gathered courage to speak out because of stigma.

In Zambia, according to latest Zambia Demographic Health Survey, 52 per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 reported that they had experienced either physical or sexual violence. It states that around one in three women had experienced both physical violence, 5 percent sexual violence and 15 percent had experienced both physical and sexual violence.

In 2009 alone the survey shows  8,261 cases of gender based violence (GBV) were reported to law enforcement and traditional authorities of which only 1,855 (22 percent) were prosecuted.

In his message during the commemoration of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in tandem with 16 days of Activism against gender based violence, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon acknowledged increased cases of violence against women saying that, “The word is spreading: violence against women and girls has no place in any society, and impunity for perpetrators must no longer be tolerated. On this international day, I urge all governments, civil society, the corporate sector, individuals to take responsibility for eradicating violence against women and girls.”

Meanwhile, during the celebrations in Zambia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country representative, Ms Viola Morgan said women in Zambia represented 52 percent of the total population and violence against them had far reaching consequences, harming families and communities, and undermining economic growth.

She said GBV was directly related to the unequal power relations that existed between men and women and this contributed to their (women) subordination to men.

“Gender based violence is therefore a cause of concern for the United Nations as it is for the government. It places greater demands on general health and emergency services and has a high economic cost whenever it occurs,” she said.

Morgan urged the Zambian government to adopt the Gender Bill tabled in Parliament, which will in turn provide legal framework for promoting gender equality and empowerment of women in Zambia.

“These 16 days from November 25th to December 10th of activism provides a very good platform to reflect on our collective milestone against GBV but we need to ensure that these issues remain high in the agenda every day,” she said.

And the board chairperson of Non Governmental Organizations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) Ms Beatrice Grillo added that there was need for concerted efforts if the fight against GBV was to be worn.

“We all need to agree that GBV is a despicable crime and a violation of women rights. It is therefore unfortunate that in this era, others believe that battering a wife is a sign of love. How can love be expressed through fists, kicks and bloodshed?” she posed.

Commenting on this year’s theme in Zambia, Defining gender based violence, the voice of civic, traditional and church leaders, she said some crimes were committed in the name of culture and called on traditional leaders to denounce all forms of cultural practices that demeaned women and girls.

“As custodians of our cultural and traditions, traditional leaders must stop negative practices such as sexual cleansing, wife inheritance, property grabbing and mistreatment of widows,” she added.

Grillo however expressed disappointment at the increase in the number of women withdrawing cases of GBV from both courts and police stations.

“This is a clear demonstration of the low economic status of women in the country and government must put in place deliberate measures to economically empower them,’ she added. 

And Zambia’s Vice President Mr. George Kunda, in his speech read by Gender Minister Ms Sarah Sayifwanda said statistics from the Victim Support Unit (VSU) showed cases of defilement had continued to rise.

In 2007, he said 696 cases were reported but the figure shot to 1,224 in 2008 and rising further to 1,676 in 2009.

He however added that the government had prioritized establishment of safety places and one-stop-centres where victims could access services from police, health personnel, counsellors and paralegal staff.

“This means survivors have access to quick interventions in terms of reporting, testing and counselling at the earliest opportunity,” he said.

The Vice President called on leaders to be role models and take concrete action to fight GBV.

*The name of the victim has been changed to protect identity.