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10,231 cases of Gender-Based Violence were recorded countrywide during the first quarter of 2026, covering the period from January 1 to March 31, 2026, according to the latest GBV statistics from the Police.
Of the total cases, 6,879 were criminal cases, while 3,352 were non-criminal cases.
This is according to the latest Police GBV statistics released in Lusaka on Saturday by Police Spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi.
Compared to 11,177 cases recorded during the same period in 2025, this represents a decrease of 946 cases, or an 8.5 percent reduction in reported GBV incidents.
Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of criminal GBV cases with 1,677, representing 24.4 percent of the national total.
Copperbelt Province followed with 953 cases (13.9 percent), Western Province with 746 cases (11.0 percent), and Luapula Province with 743 cases (10.8 percent)..
Eastern Province recorded 659 cases (9.6 percent), Central Province 589 cases (8.5 percent), and Southern Province 509 cases (7.4 percent).
North-Western Province recorded 359 cases (5.2 percent), Northern Province 270 cases (3.9 percent), Airport Division 163 cases (2.4 percent), and Muchinga Province 132 cases (1.9 percent).
TAZARA Division recorded the lowest number with 79 cases (1.0 percent) of all criminal GBV cases.
Women and girls remain disproportionately affected by Gender-Based Violence and of the 10,231 victims recorded, the majority were female, accounting for 8,021 cases (78.4 percent), while 2,210 (21.6 percent) were male.
A total of 2,586 children were victims of GBV, representing 25.3 percent of all reported cases.
“This marks an increase of 112 cases compared to 2,474 child victims recorded during the same period in 2025,” the report stated.
Of the child victims, 2,058 were recorded in criminal GBV cases, comprising 1,479 girls and 579 boys, while 528 were recorded in non-criminal GBV cases, comprising 401 girls and 127 boys.
Physical abuse was the most common form of Gender-Based Violence, with 3,807 cases recorded, representing 37.2 percent of all reported cases.
“Of these, 3,151 were cases of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm, with women accounting for most victims at 83 percent of all physical abuse cases,” reads the report.
Economic abuse accounted for 1,797 cases, representing 17.6 percent of all GBV reports, while sexual abuse totaled 934 cases.
Child defilement remained the most prevalent sexual offence, with 681 cases, representing 73.0 percent of all sexual abuse cases and of these, 669 victims were girls and 12 were boys.
“The Zambia Police Service Victim Support Unit provided counselling services to 8,943 individuals during the period under review,” he said.
Chilabi stated that the first quarter of 2026 recorded an overall decline in GBV cases compared to the same period in 2025, reflecting the impact of ongoing prevention, awareness, and response efforts.
He said the continued high levels of child victimisation, however, particularly among girls, as well as the persistence of physical and economic abuse and child defilement, remained areas of serious concern.
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