This Week: Do not be the Perpetrator of GBV
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Kelvin ESIASA
By Kelvin Esiasa
The reported video of men abusing a woman in Kafue is disheartening and one wonders if those men in the video were okay or were mad. It true as Zambia’s first Lady Mrs. Esther Lungu put it, the act of the men in the video is barbaric.
According to the media first Lady Esther Lungu broke down after explaining how she felt when she saw a video of a Kafue woman who was severely beaten, stripped naked and sexually abused by unruly men.
I agree with Madam Lungu that Sexual Violence against Children and women did not only threaten national development but was also a stumbling block to the proper growth and development of children and women
It is very sad that many Zambians are not learning from events that have continued to paralyze our communities with gender based Violence. In 2013 Gender Links has revealed that Zambia has the highest cases of gender based violence (GBV) in southern Africa. Gender Links Board Member Sarah Lungwe said this is so because of violent acts perpetrated by most men in Zambia.
But this has not changed. In February, 2016 Zambia Police Service reported that there was an increase of 16.2% in the number of gender based violence cases reported throughout the country in 2015 compared to 2014.
A total number of 18,088 cases were reported in 2015 while 2014 had 15,153 cases. Topping the list of cases reported were 6,205 Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm, 2,759 defilement cases and 1,569 cases of neglecting to provide and 1378 failing to provide cases.
So what is GBV? Gender-based violence (GBV) is the general term used to capture violence that occurs as a result of the normative role expectations associated with each gender, along with the unequal power relationships between the two genders, within the context of a specific society.
There are various types of GBV. Domestic violence severe in many communities. The pattern consists of a variety of abusive acts, occurring in multiple episodes over the course of the relationship. Some episodes consist of a sustained attack with one tactic repeated many times (e.g., punching), combined with a variety of other tactics (such as name calling, threats, or attacks against property). Other episodes consist of a single act (e.g., a slap, a “certain look”). One tactic (e.g., physical assault) may be used infrequently, while other types of abuse (such as name calling or intimidating gestures) may be used daily.
Physical abuse may include spitting, scratching, biting, grabbing, shaking, shoving, pushing, restraining, throwing, twisting, slapping (with open or closed hand), punching, choking, burning, and/or use of weapons (e.g., household objects, knives, guns) against the survivor. The physical assaults may or may not cause injuries.
Sexual violence can take many forms and take place under very different circumstances. A person can be sexually violated by one individual or several people (e.g. gang-rapes); the incident may be planned or a surprise attack. Although sexual violence occurs most commonly in the survivor’s home (or in the perpetrator’s home), it also takes place in many other settings, such as the workplace, at school, in prisons, cars, the streets or open spaces (e.g. parks, farmland).
The perpetrator of a sexual assault may be a date, an acquaintance, a friend, a family member, an intimate partner or former intimate partner, or a complete stranger, but more often than not, is someone known to the survivor. There is no stereotypical perpetrator; sexually violent men come from all backgrounds, rich and poor, academic and uneducated, religious and non-religious.
Therefore, there is need for the community to work out mechanisms on how everyone should be involved in combating GBV. The story of Kafue is just one of the cases that would be going behind our eyes.
Kelvin Esiasa – President Zambia Society for Public Administration and Society for Family Business.
This Week: Do not be the Perpetrator of GBV
Kelvin ESIASA
By Kelvin Esiasa
The reported video of men abusing a woman in Kafue is disheartening and one wonders if those men in the video were okay or were mad. It true as Zambia’s first Lady Mrs. Esther Lungu put it, the act of the men in the video is barbaric.
According to the media first Lady Esther Lungu broke down after explaining how she felt when she saw a video of a Kafue woman who was severely beaten, stripped naked and sexually abused by unruly men.
I agree with Madam Lungu that Sexual Violence against Children and women did not only threaten national development but was also a stumbling block to the proper growth and development of children and women
It is very sad that many Zambians are not learning from events that have continued to paralyze our communities with gender based Violence. In 2013 Gender Links has revealed that Zambia has the highest cases of gender based violence (GBV) in southern Africa. Gender Links Board Member Sarah Lungwe said this is so because of violent acts perpetrated by most men in Zambia.
But this has not changed. In February, 2016 Zambia Police Service reported that there was an increase of 16.2% in the number of gender based violence cases reported throughout the country in 2015 compared to 2014.
A total number of 18,088 cases were reported in 2015 while 2014 had 15,153 cases. Topping the list of cases reported were 6,205 Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm, 2,759 defilement cases and 1,569 cases of neglecting to provide and 1378 failing to provide cases.
So what is GBV? Gender-based violence (GBV) is the general term used to capture violence that occurs as a result of the normative role expectations associated with each gender, along with the unequal power relationships between the two genders, within the context of a specific society.
There are various types of GBV. Domestic violence severe in many communities. The pattern consists of a variety of abusive acts, occurring in multiple episodes over the course of the relationship. Some episodes consist of a sustained attack with one tactic repeated many times (e.g., punching), combined with a variety of other tactics (such as name calling, threats, or attacks against property). Other episodes consist of a single act (e.g., a slap, a “certain look”). One tactic (e.g., physical assault) may be used infrequently, while other types of abuse (such as name calling or intimidating gestures) may be used daily.
Physical abuse may include spitting, scratching, biting, grabbing, shaking, shoving, pushing, restraining, throwing, twisting, slapping (with open or closed hand), punching, choking, burning, and/or use of weapons (e.g., household objects, knives, guns) against the survivor. The physical assaults may or may not cause injuries.
Sexual violence can take many forms and take place under very different circumstances. A person can be sexually violated by one individual or several people (e.g. gang-rapes); the incident may be planned or a surprise attack. Although sexual violence occurs most commonly in the survivor’s home (or in the perpetrator’s home), it also takes place in many other settings, such as the workplace, at school, in prisons, cars, the streets or open spaces (e.g. parks, farmland).
The perpetrator of a sexual assault may be a date, an acquaintance, a friend, a family member, an intimate partner or former intimate partner, or a complete stranger, but more often than not, is someone known to the survivor. There is no stereotypical perpetrator; sexually violent men come from all backgrounds, rich and poor, academic and uneducated, religious and non-religious.
Therefore, there is need for the community to work out mechanisms on how everyone should be involved in combating GBV. The story of Kafue is just one of the cases that would be going behind our eyes.
Kelvin Esiasa – President Zambia Society for Public Administration and Society for Family Business.
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