By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
CHIEF Justice Irene Mambilima yesterday launched the Lusaka gender-based violence (GBV) fast track court in an effort to speed up the disposal of GBV cases.
And Government says the establishment of the GBV fast track court is a clear demonstration of its commitment to tackling GBV.
The court, the second of its kind in Zambia, is a milestone worth celebrating in view of the escalating figures of GBV in the country.
Speaking when she launched the court at the Lusaka magistrate complex yesterday, Ms Justice Mambilima called for a multi-sectoral approach to the fight against GBV, saying the court process alone could not eradicate the vice.
She said many times the courts had been meting out stiffer punishments to the offenders which included life imprisonment, but that the vice was not reducing, an indication that there were other factors at play.
Ms Justice Mambilima implored the ministry of Gender and civil society organisations to undertake awareness campaigns on the protection and remedies available under the Anti-Gender-Based Violence Act, which was enacted in 2011.
She said without public awareness on the Act, the protection and remedies afforded by the Act to victims of GBV would remain meaningless.
Ms Justice  Mambilima also implored the ministry of Finance to operationalise the Anti-Gender-Based Violence Fund in order to empower survivors of GBV whose predicament was worsened by their economic vulnerability.
She said the consequences of GBV were devastating.
Ms Justice Mambilima said although Zambia had had the Anti-Gender-Based Violence Act since 2011, there were some challenges in instituting  actions under the Act as the rules to prescribe procedures for making applications under the Act had not been enacted.
“I am, however pleased to inform you that I have since approved the rules and they have been published as Statutory Instrument No. 8 of 2016,” Ms Justice Mambilima said.
As a way of mitigating the traumatic effects of GBV, survivors would be giving evidence on closed circuit television (CCTV) to avoid contact with the perpetrators.
Community Development Minister Emerine Kabanshi said the courts launched in Lusaka and Kabwe would help tackle GBV cases and give confidence to the survivors.
United Nations resident coordinator Janet Rogan said GBV in Zambia was rising, with 53 defilement cases reported every week.
Zambia Law Development Commission chairperson Rhodah Kaomo said progress towards gender parity had slowed down and called on everyone to take a concrete step in fighting GBV and enhancing gender equality.