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Zambia: Limulunga District is recording cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) every month under the district health office.
District Health Planner Mutumba Simioti says GBV is still rife in the district, as no month passes without recording a GBV case. Simioti was speaking during the formation of the gender sub-committee meeting when a team from Lusaka under the Gender Division was in Limulunga to engage officers on the promotion of gender issues in the district.
Principle Gender Officer Gift Bwembya said the committee was instrumental in promoting gender equality and women’s rights.
“There is a need to collaborate and work together as departments to implement gender policies in a bid to reduce gender inequalities,” Bwembya said.
He said departments should mainstream gender issues in empowerment programmes, education and skill development.
Bwembya said the committee is part of the human and social development pillar of the Eight National Development Plan (8NDP). “Review existing programmes and recommend which ones must be continued, changed and bring new programmes that will place a demand on gender equality in line with national gender policies,” he said.
Officiating at the meeting, District Commissioner Lutangu Lutangu was saddened that cases of gender-based violence were still rampant in the district.
Lutangu called upon the Principal Gender Officer to also consider checking the mental health of perpetrators who violate the rights of victims, stating that people in their right state of mind should be far from committing such atrocities.
Limulunga Social Welfare Officer Msoni Khuzwayo stated that last year, the office, working with the Police, retrieved a juvenile whose grandmother was physically abused in the district.
“Some residents tipped us up and quickly mobilised with the police and we managed to retrieve the juvenile to a safe place, and later we located him to his other relatives,” Kuzwayo said
He said championing women’s rights is vital because they mostly fall prey to abuse, such as unhealthy restrictions from their spouses and other types of abuses.
Meanwhile, another Principal Gender Officer, Regina Chimanga, said it is discouraging that the gender division was still receiving reports of withdrawal cases from the Police by victims.
Chimanga thus called for sensitisation from the committee and various stakeholders on GBV and the impact of withdrawals on the crusade against gender-based violence.
She also said it was vital for people to know the forms of GBV cases in the country for them to appreciate what is allowed and not, stating that a partner avoiding talking to his or her spouse is an abuse.
Limulunga’s network of people living with disabilities will be part of the sub-committee to promote inclusiveness and delve into the association’s insight.
This comes barely a month after Network Chairperson Oscar Mutukelwa called on the government to include them in decision-making for the district and not just as end-receivers of government programmes.