ALL MUST STAND UP AGAINST GBV

Written by on June 15, 2019

GENDER-BASED violence (GBV) is horrid vehemence that is aimed at an individual, based on his or her biological sex or gender personality.

It truly embraces physical, sexual, verbal, expressive, and psychological abuse, threats, bullying, and economic or instructive deprivation, whether happening in open or secluded life.

GBV also seriously alters all aspects of both men and women’s health-physical, sexual and reproductive, mental and behavioral wellbeing.

Health corollaries of GBV can be, immediate and dire as well as lifelong and chronic with deleterious health outcomes which may persist long after the violence has stopped.

There are also revelations that women who are victimized by physical violence—whether at the hands of their husbands, lovers or relatives are more likely to use violence in chastising their offspring.

Such children, regrettably, after being exposed to such ferocity are themselves more likely to participate in violent and aberrant activities.

In Zambia GBV is indisputably one of the most shared forms of violence that includes physical, emotional, sexual and economic pugnaciousness.

But what Zambians must know is that GBV has devastating costs not only for sufferers but also for society at large.

Although GBV has been restricted to women probably because of being the weaker sex, in Zambia statics are showing that men too area progressively becoming targets of GBV at the hands of ferocious women.

Take the case of a businessman of Chitamba Village in Kasama district who is nursing severe burns after his love-sick wife poured hot porridge on him for allegedly having extramarital affairs with other women.

Speaking from his hospital bed at Kasama General Hospital, Maybin Chileshe,39 says that the incident happened last Monday around 15:00 hours.

Mr. Chileshe says that his wife accused him of being adulterous to her and on the material day decided to pour hot porridge on him meant for cooking Nshima.

Consequently Mr Chileshe suffered grave burns on the face, chest and the back.      

And Northern Province Commissioner of Police, Richard Mweene rightly says that despite having not received a report from the victim police will not tolerate such acts.

Mr. Mweene says that victims should always report such cases to the police regardless of relationships so that the law can visit the perpetrators.

“I am so disappointed that despite heightened sensitization, people still do not have the courage to report such cases. We need to change our mindsets and the way of doing things if we are to create a crime-free Zambia,” says Mr Mweene.

And to add its  voice to the scourge, the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) has condemned recent growing acts of gender based violence (GBV) perpetuated by women against their husbands or lovers.

YWCA executive director Patricia Ndhlovu thinks the violent acts perpetuated by women on their husbands are compromising the fight against GBV.

Ms. Ndhlovu says as per Zambian tradition and culture, women are supposed to respect their husbands and that it is significant for married couples to resolve their barneys affably instead of resorting to violent acts.

“It is unfortunate that cases of GBV against men are also on the rise. We wonder the kind of culture that our Zambian women are trying to embrace,” she says

So Zambians should stand up and put their hands together to prizefight GBV because the vice is a human rights desecration, a public health defy, and a barricade to civic, social, political, and economic contribution.


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