Escalating GBV cases must be treated as a pandemic

AN alarming surge in Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases in Zambia is worrying and it must be treated as a pandemic because is destroying our homes, communities and our country.

GBV can take many forms and, depending on the type of relationship that is its context and the type of power being exerted, this crime may therefore fall into any of the following categories: rape and incest, sexual harassment at work or at school, sexual violence against women detainees or prisoners, acts of violence against men and women, as well as domestic violence.

For instance, in Zambia both men and women are being murdered in severely violent ways, almost every day, by their spouses.

The latest one involved a-65-year old woman identified as Phanias Namwayi of Isoka District in Muchinga Province has allegedly killed her 80-year-old husband, Maxwell Chunda, after a marital dispute.

According to Muchinga Province Commissioner of Police Joel Njase, who confirmed the incident that happened yesterday said the suspect alleged hit her husband with a stick after the two quarreled.

He said the elderly man died after being inflicted with pain on his ribs and the head.

“Unfortunately Maxwell Chunda died after being inflicted with an injury on the left ribs and head. It is alleged that the now deceased was hit on the head using a stick,” Mr Njase said.

He said Police officers rushed to the scene of crime where the suspect was apprehended.

Mr Njase said body of the victim was found in a one roomed house lying on rid Matt and after inspection it was discovered that it had two big wounds on the left ribs and blood stains on the nose and mouth.

This barely a week after another man of Copperbelt Province killed his wife after a domestic quarrel. This cannot continue.

The perpetrators are not animals. They live among us and some of us know them and continue to protect their patriarchal positions that allow for gender-based violence to thrive in a society.

Many African states have adopted laws that criminalize rape and other forms of GBV, but the enforcement of such laws is often weak.

Many rape cases are never brought to court and victims are frequently encouraged to accept reconciliation instead of prosecution of offenders. And this trend must be stopped.

Indeed, GBV must be treated as a pandemic. When there is a pandemic, every moment is used to fight the virus or find means to do that.

If gender-based violence were treated as the pandemic it is, women or indeed vulnerable men would feel safer to sleep in their homes at night, go out for a walk, and leave abusive partners without fearing they will be another statistic — murdered, raped and thrown in the bushes.

Government bodies responsible for improving the status of women must work together and coordinate their activities with other institutions, including ministries, local governments and non-governmental organizations; they should also contribute to the creation of social support networks for the victims of gender-based violence, since the whole of society is responsible for eliminating such violence, and community participation is vital if the impunity of aggressors is to end.

In addition, links need to be established to promote coordination and cooperation between the organizations which monitor the observance of human rights and the organizations which work for women’s advancement; this step will require greater openness in terms of theory, practice and policy stances on the part of both sectors.