Fear grips survivors of gender-based violence in Kawambwa district. Here’s why

Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development (ZNMNGD) has expressed concerned about the fact that witchcraft is threatening the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Kawambwa District of Luapula Province.

Organization National Coordinator, Nelson Banda, said the network in Kawambwa had learnt with sadness why GBV survivors do not report cases prevailing in rural parts of the district.

Banda said they had noted that in most rural parts of district people fail to report GBV cases for fear of being attacked through witchcraft by relatives of perpetrators.

“Survivors and sympathisers who have shown courage to report are threatened to be ‘shot’ using witchcraft weapons,” he said.

Banda said despite all the efforts by stakeholders to reduce GBV in the district, witchcraft had remained one of the obstacles that was pulling down efforts of survivors to report cases to law enforcement.

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