An assessment of national gender policy in eliminating gender violence in Kalingalinga, Lusaka district.

Abstract

The study assessed the national gender policy in eliminating gender violence in Kalingalinga-Lusaka district. Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a global health, human rights, and developmental issue that go beyond geography, class, culture, age, race and religion, and touches every community in every corner of the globe. Sometimes known as violence against women, Gender-Based Violence is a problem that has become prevalent in the Sub-Sahara African Countries and Zambia is not an exception. A descriptive case study research design was employed. In this study, the sample consisted of 50 respondents from Kalingalinga compound, Lusaka district. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. This was chosen because it allowed common emerging themes to be grouped together. Quantitative data was manually analyzed to come up with pie charts and tables. Simple random sampling technique was applied to select the police officers from Kalingalinga Police station and Care international limited. Simple Random sampling was used to help target a group which is suitable to bring out rich information related to the central issue being studied for in-depth analysis. The researcher used a closed ended questionnaire and interview guide as the primary data collection instruments. To collect data Self-administered structured questionnaires were used to collect demographic data, knowledge on the prevalence of Gender Based Violence, causes, effects and solutions. In terms of institutional frameworks in place to eliminate gender based violence (GBV) there was a National gender policy spear headed by Ministry of gender and coordinated by the Policy Analysis Coordinating committee (PAC). As regard to prevalence of GBV in kalingalinga compound it was high to such that in 2016 there was 18, 540 cases of GBV compared to 18, 088 in 2015. Common of these were wife battering, forced sexual intercourse, and child defilement. As a result, there are a lot of negative effects and on sexual life, mental health, and infidelity among couples. The study therefore, recommended counseling to couples and sensitization about the effects of GBV.