Zambia: Stakeholders of the Mwense District, who are part of the fight against Gender-based Violence (GBV) in the District have asked to construct safe houses for survivors. The presence of safe houses helps the people of the country to make sure that the victim can seek out safe places.
Some stakeholders have expressed their concern on the situation. They have observed that there is a lack of safe houses, which can lead to the lives of the GBV survivors becoming at risk.
The meeting was attended by Zambia Police, Ministry of Health, the Local Authority, the National Prosecution Authority, Ministry of Community Development and the District Administration Office. The authorities are also concerned about the lack of safe houses and holding cells for females at Mwense Police station.
Furthermore, Zambia Center for Communication Program- ZCCP Kwatu one-stop Coordinator Oscar Champo has also recalled several other challenges. These include limited funding for operations at the centre.
This hinders the community from conducting and implementing some of the planned anti-GBV activities.
He has explained that female survivors have to stay at the reception of the police station whenever they go to report GBV cases. This is because the people of the community are not comfortable sending the victim’s back to their homes after they make the reports.
However, the reception is not ideal for the victims but there is a lack of options. Another challenge is the limited transport facilities. The district administration is unable to adequately respond to
He further revealed that this challenge of limited transport was also making it difficult for the centre to respond to calls of distress. He said that Mwense District is large and needs adequate transport Anti-GBV operations.
Chairperson for the technical Committee on GBV Philip Muonga has asked the ministries of health and community development to advocate for the construction of a safe shelter under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Chairperson Muonga is also the District Administrative Officer and has asked administration to increase efforts in the fight against GBV.