Source: Zambia Daily Mail
IT IS understood that besides being victims of gender based violence (GBV) either directly or indirectly, children also have a role to play in fighting it. But most importantly, it is the teachings of the parents that really matter the most to a child’s upbringing.

In the Bible, Proverbs 22:6 implores parents and guardians to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This cannot be over emphasised as parents also have a role to play.

Scholars have also argued that “Male children who see their father beat their mother are seven times more likely to be violent as adults than those who did not witness such violence (Straus et al., 1981).”

A recent report by UNICEF further exemplified the need for children to have healthy role models. It said “unhealthy role models damage children now and in the future.”

UNICEF is of the view that men who batter women are more likely to batter children physically, sexually, and emotionally.
“Their (men’s) need for power and control of family members often stifles the healthy development of their children. Nearly 90 percent of children who grow up in abusive homes witness the assaults. Nearly half of the batterers also abuse their children,” reads the report in part.

Coming down to Zambia’s perspective, it has not been spared of these horrors that have befallen women and children.
GBV, which in itself is a term used for describing harmful acts perpetrated against a person based on socially ascribed differences between males and females has become a daily story globally.

While its broadest interpretation is sometimes understood to include specific types of violence against men and boys, the term has historically been and continues to be used primarily as a way to highlight the vulnerabilities of women and girls to various forms of violence in settings where they are discriminated against because they are female.

But there seems to be a glimmer at the end of all of it all. Against this backdrop, the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) has come up with a campaign that it is calling “Youth against Gender Horrors (YAGH).”

The campaign which was launched by Vice President Dr Guy Scott’s wife, Charlotte in Lusaka recently is aimed at engaging children in behavioural change activities. Like the saying goes, “catch them while they are still young.”

According to YWCA national president Lucy Lungu, the campaign is a pilot project which will seek to engage and compel government through the Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training to allow the association to carry out sensitisation programmes in schools.

She is of the view that “the only way to fight GBV is to engage children of school going ages, while they are still young. We will then impart some knowledge in them that will be vital to change their mindsets and shift it away from GBV.”

She is also optimistic that the campaign will yield fruits and supplement government’s efforts of fighting GBV as well as help communicate the adverse effects of HIV and AIDS to children.

“With this campaign, we hope that at least with our youths and those policies that government has we will get somewhere. Come forward and support this cause, everyone has a role to play. We have been here since 1957 and we stood together for this long and indeed together we can achieve a lot,” she says.

Government on the other hand apart from just giving YWCA a go-ahead with the project, it has in place a number of policies to curb the vice. Policies and national action plans such as the Anti GBV Act Number 1 of 2011, the National Action Plan on GBV (NPA-GBV) 2010 – 2014, National Plan of Action to reduce HIV Infection among women and girls (NPA-Women, Girls and HIV) 2010 – 2014 are all a milestone in laying an enabling legal and policy framework to address both GBV and HIV and AIDS.

However, as Mrs Scott notes, it has been proven that programmes that work with youth and children have demonstrated more dramatic and sustainable changes in attitude about acceptability of GBV.

“Therefore, putting children at the centre and recognising them as right-holders and social actors by using participatory and empowering approaches, and working in alliances to promote the rights of the child in order to address GBV is critical,” Mrs Scott stresses.

She also says further evidence suggests youth are also more open to changing attitude and behaviour regarding violence, gender roles and masculinity norms.

“Schools are one of the key entry points for GBV and HIV awareness,” she adds.

In buttressing Mrs Scott’s point, Ministry of Education deputy minister Patrick Ngoma says government recognises that GBV and HIV is as much a critical health and social issue as it is a priority education issue.

“Witnessing or being a victim of violence teaches children about the abuse of power and models of behavior that our children grow up to replicate. Additionally, GBV against girls and boys deprives them of the nurturing environment needed for the complete cultivation of their potential,” he says.

Clarifying gender discrimination as a central component in the perpetration of all forms of violence against women and girls reinforces countries’ obligations to work towards the elimination of violence against women and girls as part of their responsibilities for protecting and promoting universal human rights.

In these settings, the humanitarian community has a responsibility to ensure the safety, well-being and rights of those at risk of GBV, regardless of whether data exists on the true scope of the problem. Any available data on GBV, including reports from police, legal, health, or other sources, will likely represent only a very small proportion of the actual number of incidents of GBV.

Therefore, it should be assumed that GBV will be an issue in every emergency, requiring that all humanitarian actors (such as those working within and across the sectors of water and sanitation, health, nutrition, logistics, education, protection, etc.) take steps to address it.

In emergencies, child protection systems, – including laws, policies, regulations and services across all social sectors, especially social welfare, education, health and security are weakened and disrupted.

The societal effects of gender based violence are often understood better when looking at the effects of the violence on children. Discussing the controversial issue of child custody might be a good start before discussing the overlap between violence against women and children.

“Really to be honest, GBV is not good. I come from a house where I have to watch my father beat up my mom every time they quarrel, and over small petty issues. The problem is that I am forced to live with that for the rest of my life because clearly it is sending a wrong picture about men as well as marriage in totality,” says a grade 12 school girl at SOS Children’s Village who requested anonymity.

In this entire vein, and bearing in mind the teachings of the Bible in Proverbs 22:6, perhaps the bigger picture and question one is to ask themselves is: What footsteps am I leaving behind for my children?

 

 

• Zambia