Report GBV cases — SOUTHERN Province Police Commissioner Charity Katanga

Ms Katanga urged members of the public to help the Police by always reporting cases of GBV so the law can take its course.

She was speaking in Choma at the weekend during a pre-launch march past for the 16 days activism against GBV in Zambia, whose theme for this year is ‘One Zambia, One Nation against GBV’.

She said Police in the province had lined up a number of programmes such as carrying out community sensitisation on early marriages.

“Never hide cases of GBV as its consequences can affect the nation in terms of development. Police alone cannot fight GBV, we need your support,” she said.

“It is our appeal that you shall cooperate with the Police by giving information that can lead to the detection of crime and arrests of offenders so that together we can fight crime including GBV,” she said.

Since January this year, she said Police had recorded a total of 359 assault cases across the province of which 261 were against women. She said 230 of the cases were before courts of law.

On defilement, Police recorded 189 cases out of which 180 involved girls while on rapes cases, 101 cases were recorded out of which 58 invloved women.

Speaking at the same occasion, Provincial Assistant Secretary Kapumo Luyanga said GBV had remained a violation of human rights as it led to serious physical and psychological harm.

Mr Luyanga said GBV denied victims the right to freedom, liberty and development.

Mr Luyanga said cases of GBV had to continued rise resulting in injuries and loss of lives.

This in turn retarded national development and hence the need to deal with perpetrators.

And a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has commended Government for its efforts in combating GBV in the country.

Trauma Healing Centre director Jurita Mutale said the Government was playing important role in reducing GBV cases through different programmes such as sensitisation campaigns and funding to NGOs dealing with such issues.

Ms Mutale said the Trauma Healing Centre was now training 400 GBV victims and had received funding from Government through the ministry of Gender and Child Development.

But Ms Mutale said there was still more work to be done, especially in peri-urban areas where women were not free to speak out on GBV.

[times of zambia]