GBV cases on the rise

CASES of Gender Based Violence (GBV) have risen to 7,640 countrywide in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 6,788 recorded during the same period in 2019.Police Spokesperson Esther Katongo said there was an increase of 852 translating into 19.8 percent (%).In a statement to ZANIS in Lusaka today, Ms Katongo stated that the third quarter of 2020 disaggregated data indicates that 1,849 children were abused countrywide representing 24.2 percent of all the victims of GBV.She indicated that out of the 1,849 child victims, 1,363 were girls representing 74 percent while 486 were boys representing 26 percent of all abused child victims respectively as well as 4,425 women and 1,366 men were abused countrywide representing 58% and 18 % respectively.“Under sexual abuse, 832 cases of sexual offences were recorded representing 11% of all the reported cases. Out of 832, 741 victims were girls translating to 89%, 67 victims were women translating to 08%, 23 victims were boys translating to 03%, whilst 01 victim was man translating to 0.1%.A total of 714 cases of Child defilement were recorded of which 713 were girls and 01 case of a boy,” the statement read in part.Ms Katongo also disclosed that Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of child defilement cases with 301 translating to 42% of the child defilement cases reported countrywide with Central Province having recorded 102 cases translating to 14% followed by Eastern Province with 89 cases translating to 12%.She pointed out that Southern Province had 48 cases translating to 7% and Copperbelt Province recorded 44 cases translating to 6% of all the reported defilement cases.“Others are North Western with 35 cases representing 05%, Luapula, 27 representing 04%, Western and Muchinga recorded 23 each representing 3% each, Northern had 20 representing 03%.118 rape and 21 attempted rape cases were recorded during the period under review. The country also recorded 36 cases of indecent Assault out of which 25 victims were women, 10 girls, and 01 boy. 28 cases of incest were recorded in which 14 were girls, 10 women while 04 were boys as victims,” she said.Under Physical Abuse, Ms Katongo said the country recorded 2,368 cases translating to 31 % of the reported cases of which 394 tanslating to 17% were males, 1,762 cases translating to 74% were females, 98 cases translating to 04% were girls and 114 cases translating to 05% were boys.She further said during the period under review, the country recorded 25 GBV related murder cases compared to 23 recorded in the third quarter, of 2019 showing an increase by 02 cases translating to 08% increase.Under Economic Abuse, The Police Spokesperson said 452 cases of failing to Provide Necessaries of life and 351 cases of Neglecting to Provide Necessaries were recorded translating to 10.3% and 7.9% of reported cases respectively.“It has been observed that during the initial stage of COVID-19, victims of crime were hesitant to report GBV cases due to misinterpretation of some COVID-19 preventive measures such as the Social Distancing and Stay at home campaigns. The Zambia Police Service has been working closely with cooperating partners in providing support to victims of crime as part of the COVID-19 response and in ensuring that Victims of GBV continue accessing essential service from the institution,” she stated.Meanwhile, Ms Katongo explained that Police in the recent past have recorded an upswing in the cases of theft from motor vehicles whilst parked more especially at shopping malls.Ms Katongo emphasized that unsuspecting members of the public have lost various property among them huge sums of money and laptops.She appealed to members of the public to avoid leaving valuables in their motor vehicles as such attract criminals.“It is also suspected that criminals are also trailing unsuspecting members of the public from various banks who they later steal from after parking motor vehicles hence we advise members of the public to avoid moving with huge sums of money and adopt other safe transactions such as online banking,” the statement read in part.She further indicated that police have intensified patrols in strategic areas such as at various shopping malls to enhance security as the country is approaching the festive season. – ZANIS The Sun