The Zambia Police Services Victim Support Unit (VSU) has said economic violence and abuse was on the rise in most Zambian homes.
Speaking in an interview in Lusaka, VSU National Coordinator, Senior Superintendent Tresford Kasale said it was disheartening to note that economic violence had become a common trend in most Zambian homes to settle domestic scores.
He said in most cases bread winners in Zambian homes, male or female, took advantage of their economic position to economically abuse their spouses, children and dependents.
Mr Kasale said bread winners deliberately stopped buying food and other human necessities such as clothing , medical care and education, among others in order to make their spouses feel unwanted resulting in them leaving their matrimonial homes.
The VSU National Coordinator said this during a five- day Gender Awareness workshop for service providers at Red Roof Lodge in Lusaka’s Roma Township which started on Monday.
Mr. Kasale said that such trends were commonly practiced in both high and low density urban areas. He noted that such practices were also part of the issues that the VSU was handling on a daily basis as breadwinners attributed prevailing economic situation in the country as the cause of them not supporting their spouses and family in general.
Mr. Kasale however advised breadwinners not use their economic situation as the reason for not supporting their families saying they should instead be transparent and honest to their spouses and families on their situation.
The workshop sponsored by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is aimed at empowering service providers with adequate information on Gender Based Violence (GBV) which is said to be on the increase in the country.
The workshop has attracted service providers from nearly all corners of Zambia mainly attached to the VSU’s of police stations.
And during the preliminary of the workshop, some participants expressed concern at the law that prohibited housewives from physically reacting to their husbands’ girlfriends.
The participants said this development had actually empowered girlfriends to have undue control of most men thereby creating domestic instability in most homes.
However, Mr. Kasale advised the participants that the affected housewives should take advantage of the law of Adultery which he said was as punitive as any other law.
ZANIS
Do not give these house wives ideas otherwise they will go back to were they came from faster than they came, leave the girl friends alone a man needs a shoulder to cry on when the wife is being funny at home.
It is a sign that poverty is on the rise again!!!!!
London @ #1, I feel you.
“For better for worse” Keep your vows people nad stick with your families. It was your idea in the first place and no one forced you into marriege.
there is no solution in physically reacting to a husbands girl friend because the main problem is the husband, so wives should deal with their husbands because they are the ones who propose when they know they are already committed to their wives. Infact most of these wives do not know how to make their husbands happy by looking attractive and not wearing vitenge throughout and no time for bathing and all the do is naggying and showing gloomy face each time the husband is around.
Awe mwandini. problem with girlfriends-they give it all at once. Yonse, uvina mwamene wainvelela.
However, nitu ma devils, i wish there was another way of killing that desire in men. Women also talk too much when they are married. I fail to understand them because even the same girlfirnd if you marry her, she will start talking on top of the roof.
@ 1 the holy book says “Do to others what you want them to do unto you” so if you want a shoulder to cry on I think even the wife would need a should to cry on,cos if u are fighting then both are involved you can’t say you not part it,so men should jst change and control there canal minds which they feel can’t be controlled.
No.7 Women are not allowed to have another should to cry on be real mate
# 8 wafwa iwe,we’ll see if you will have time to cry on that shoulder as you waste away in UTH.coz pa london you will be chased like a dog,for carrying a deadly WMD(weapon of mass destruction).
# VJ Rigger today you have made me laugh. I like it. Weapon of Mass destruction. What about HIV positive prostitutes who give it out in Zambian bars without telling the customer that they have the virus? They also have mass destructive weapon. Ma Terriban ayi?
No. 10 you are right on.
Dont you think apart from infected needles, birth, unprotected sex….. kissing is also a mode of transimission. For instance if the bitch was sucking an infected fella’s weapon of mass destraction an hour ago, in order to increase turn over, she hooks you for merely a kiss or even sex but protected. Ni same fye kwati. We are all seek fellas. Lets just support each other on our beds.
Domestic violence on the rise – GRZ should tackle this problem