USAID Helps Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
|
Children’s Corner
at Mutendere Clinic in Lusaka, Zambia.
(Photo: Chris Mahoney, USAID/Zambia)
|
The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) opened an eighth Coordinated Response Center for
survivors of sexual and gender-based violence on September 10, 2009.
The new center is located at Buchi Clinic in Kitwe and is implemented
through A Safer Zambia (ASAZA), a USAID funded sexual and gender based
violence prevention and response program.
Gender-based violence is a serious global
health, human rights and development issue that knows no social, economic,
or political boundaries. Nearly half of Zambian women have been victims
of gender-based violence.
The Coordinated Response Centers are
a successful model for an integrated response to sexual and gender-based
violence. They are the first of their kind in Zambia and ensure direct
service delivery to survivors of such violence. At one-stop sites, survivors
can find medical help, including the collection and preservation of
criminal evidence; legal support, including reporting the crime to the
police and legal advice where needed; and, psychological support, including
counseling and referrals to survivor support groups, safe houses or
shelters.
|
Coordinated Response
Center waiting room at Mutendere Clinic in Lusaka, Zambia. (Photo:
Chris Mahoney, USAID/Zambia)
|
Speaking at the launch, Ms. Beatrice
Hamusonde, USAID Gender Specialist, recognized the collaborative effort
needed to operate the center. “This center represents a true partnership
between the U.S. Government and the Government of Zambia. This approach
ensures local ownership and sustainability of efforts to fight gender-based
violence and provide restorative services to survivors.”
The Coordinated Response Center in Kitwe
is the fourth opened this year and brings the total number of centers
in the country to eight. There are two centers in Lusaka (at the YWCA
near UTH and at the Mutendere Clinic) and one each in Chipata, Kabwe,
Mazabuka, Livingstone, Ndola and now Kitwe.
Ms. Hamusonde also noted that more needs to be done in the fight against
sexual and gender-based violence. “We need to continue to address
the consequences faced by survivors of gender-based violence, including
potential HIV transmission. We need to work to eradicate harmful social
norms, behaviors and practices that perpetuate gender-based violence.”
