Various Civil Society Organisations CSOs have called on Government and other stakeholders to recognize and raise awareness about issues affecting men as victims of gander based violence (GBV).
Those spoken to in random interviews expressed that there is little to no attention given to issues affecting the male folk and this was a contributing factor to men abusing women and girls’ rights.
They believe that addressing issues that negatively impact males, such as their poor comportment to seeking health care, emotional and mental wellbeing will be a more sustainable way of preventing abuse all round, whether on female to male or vice versa.
The interviewees suggested that the 16 days of Gender Activism against Gender Based Violence should be an occasion to encourage men to promote gender equality, men’s involvement in family planning and child care activities as means of fighting gender based violence.
And, the CSO, The Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development has called on the Government to increase budget support to Victims Support Units, recognize international men’s day and establish the sexual offenders’ prison as means of fighting GBV.
Organization national coordinator Nelson Banda explained that Statistics released on a quarterly basis by Zambia Police is evidence enough that there is need for Government to allocate more resources to Victim Support Units and equip them with adequate resources such as transport and equipment to enable officers investigate sexual crimes and prosecute sexual criminals.
He bemoaned that most Government departments were well resourced with adequate transportation, while the Victim Support Units, which investigate complex sexual offences have acute shortages of transportation which limit their ability to follow up on perpetrators.
Meanwhile, a victim of GBV who spoke on grounds of anonymity called on the authorities charged with the responsibility to handle cases, to do more in a bid to save lives as a lot of people have died at the hands of perpetrators due to lack of help.
She explained that on 2 separate occasions she was a victim of GBV and could not access the necessary help, as most government institutions refused to help without having to provide them with transportation in one instance, and money for inconveniencing the officers on another.
