U.S. and UK announce $10m for survivors of Gender-Based Violence
The One-Stop Centre for survivors of Gender-Based Violence was launched at Ng'ombe clinic.
Launch of the One-Stop Centre for survivors of GBV at Ng'ombe clinic
At the launch of the Ng’ombe Clinic One-Stop Center on 24 April, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) announced an extra $10.2 million in funding to fight gender-based violence and give survivors greater access to clinical services. These additional funds, provided by DFID through USAID, will increase the number of one-stop centers across Zambia from 8 to 16.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious global health, human rights, and development issue that knows no social, economic, or political boundaries. The 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey indicated that almost half of all women have experienced some form of physical violence. To significantly reduce this number, USAID, with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Response For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and DFID, with continued coordination from the Zambian Ministry of Health, opened an eighth one-stop anti-GBV center in the Ng’ombe compound area of Lusaka. The new center is administered by World Vision through the GBV Survivor Support project, which is one of three U.S. government-funded sexual- and gender-based violence prevention and response programs in Zambia. “The United States is pleased that the Ministry of Health supports the continued expansion of the one-stop centers at health clinics,” commented USAID/Zambia Mission Director Dr. Susan K. Bems.
“When the government adds medical care and access to police and legal services in one location, it makes the project more sustainable within the community it serves. People at every level have a role to play in stopping gender-based violence in their communities.”
The Head of DFID Zambia, Kevin Quinlan, also added that,
“Globally one in three women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. Violence is used to intimidate, humiliate and discredit women forcing them into silent second class citizenship. The time for suffering in silence is over! That is why the UK Government is pleased to support the efforts of the Government of Zambia and NGOs to eliminate Gender Based Violence in the country.”
As a successful model for an integrated response to sexual- and gender-based violence, the one-stop centers are the first of their kind in Zambia and have been developed to ensure prompt and comprehensive service to survivors of violence. Each one-stop center offers survivors a multitude of services: medical help from professionals and collection of criminal evidence by police; legal advice and crime reporting guidance; and psychological care through counseling and access to survivor support groups.
In addition to the GBV Survivor Support project, USAID, through PEPFAR and DFID, funds the GBV Access to Justice and GBV Prevention and Advocacy projects. With $27.4 million in funding over a five-year period, from 2013 to 2018, the three GBV projects will reach 5 million adults and children with preventive messages, assist 47,000 survivors, and train 160 police and 65 prosecutorial personnel.
Below is the full text of the speech by the Head of DFID Zambia, Kevin Quinlan:
I am delighted to be here today to mark the opening of this Ng’ombe One Stop Centre which will provide much needed services to survivors of gender based violence. Gender based violence
Globally if you are a woman aged between 15 and 45 years you are more likely to be maimed and die from male violence than from malaria, cancer, traffic accidents and war combined.
Such violence is used to intimidate, humiliate and discredit women and to force them into a silent, second-class citizenship.
The statistics on violence against women and girls are shocking!
Globally 1 in 3 women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.
Usually, the abuser is a member of her own family or someone she knows.
And up to half of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16.
In Zambia, almost half of women aged 15 to 49 years have experienced physical violence.
Homes should be places of refuge and safety. For too many women in our societies our homes are places of hidden suffering.
None of us here today wants gender based violence to remain hidden in Zambia. So we are committed together to support the victims of gender based violence and turn them into survivors. And we are committed to stopping gender based violence in the first place. One Stop Centres
One Stop Centres such as this wonderful one here in Ng’ombe are key to this. They provide critical and comprehensive medical, legal and counselling services. And crucially they are a place where women can get help in getting redress.
Acknowledgements
Many partners have come together to make this day and the STOP GBV programme a reality.
Firstly, I would like to recognize World Vision for the excellent work they have done on the Stop GBV programme. They have shown tremendous commitment including contributing their own funds for the establishment of this Centre.
I would also like to acknowledge Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA). They are supporting survivors to access justice through training the police, lawyers, judiciary and health & social workers. This is absolutely critical to ensure that perpetrators do not continue to abuse with impunity.
I would also like to thank the Zambia Centre for Communication Programmes (ZCCP). They are changing social norms through working with traditional, religious and community leaders as well the wider community. This work is fundamental to preventing violence against girls and women happening in the first place.
I would like to pay a special tribute to USAID who had the vision and foresight to initiate the STOP GBV programme with some help from UK Aid. Having seen the very positive results achieved together as UK Aid we are now scaling up our support. Today we will sign a MoU with USAID committing a further K75m to support a further 6 One Stop Centres. This programme is the first to deal with GBV at scale and in such a comprehensive and sustainable manner.
Our support will also bring new innovations to the programme such as using football to engage boys and young men as gender based violence cannot be eliminated without the efforts of all.
And of course I would like to thank the Government of Zambia. As your supporting partners the rest of us have kick-started the process. And it is really heart-warming you are Government are fully managing 10 of the One Stop Centres established so far. This is clear testimony to your determination to eliminate gender based violence in Zambia. UK Aid DFID’s global development agenda
Finally, let me say a little about UK Aid. We provide around K 700m of support annually to Zambia across a range of human and economic development areas. Empowering women and girls is at the heart of our development agenda.
Our global strategic vision sets out four priorities which we see as game changers for girls and women:
• Delaying first pregnancy and supporting safe child birth • Getting girls through primary and secondary school • Improving economic opportunities for girls and women • Preventing violence against women and girls
Concluding Remarks
In conclusion – what we have here is a programme that works. It is built on strong foundations and it is implemented by dedicated partners with genuine innovation. As UK Aid we are excited by the opportunities. And thus I am delighted to witness the opening of the Ngombe One Stop Centre and to sign a MoU with USAID for K75m to support the scale-up of the STOP GBV programme.
Zambia can be an even better place especially for women and girls. Tiyende pamodzi. Zikomo kwambiri.