ObjectivesFund scope
Although significant success was seen following phase I of the Joint Programme, rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in Zambia are still high in certain parts of the country. Real-time data on GBV prevalence is limited, but available numbers show that reported cases increased from 12,924 in 2012 to 18,540 in 2016, and jumped to 22,073 in 2018. The most common types of GBV are intimate partner violence, sexual violence against children, rape, sexual harassment, and child marriage. Forty-three percent of childbearing age women in Zambia have experienced physical violence at some point in their lives.
To counter this upward trend the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has made a commitment to counter gender inequality and GBV, developing and enacting laws, policies and plans. It builds on the previous Joint Programme on Gender-Based Violence, which came to an end in December 2017. Phase II of the Joint Programme on Gender-Based Violence in Zambia focusses on prevention and response at sub-national and national levels. This new chapter of the programme is designed to:
- Strengthen and scale-up best practices from the previous phase.
- Streamline joint programme operations to further the Delivering as One approach.
- Minimize overlaps and duplication with other GBV programmes (regardless of funding source).
The United Nations and GRZ Joint Programme improves access to, and use of, quality prevention and response services in the areas of health, rule of law, social welfare, economic empowerment, and social protection for GBV survivors. Strengthening community GBV response mechanisms is one of the gateways to spurring sustainable institutional changes in formal and informal structures.
Theory of change
The theory of change for the Joint Programme is focused on structural challenges and solutions that reduce GBV prevalence in target districts through a two-pronged method that strengthens access to, and utilisation of, GBV responsive services. This method also empowers GBV survivors, people at risk, and community members to break cycles of abuse by challenging cultural norms, social preconceptions, and community tendency toward cycles of silence.
Four components make up the programmatic response (Fast-Track Courts, One Stop Centres, shelters, and Village Led One Stop Centres) to enhance the professional capacities of service providers like police officers, social workers, medical staff, and legal officers so they can offer effective and efficient responses to GBV survivors. This includes strengthening child-friendly services and those designed to reach unaccompanied and separated child migrants. The prevention piece of the programme is about boosting community engagement and sustaining participation, particularly among traditional leaders.
To this end, Village Led One Stop Centres play an important role in informing community members on the benefits of, and reasons for, projects that support survivors of GBV and why it is critical to report cases to relevant authorities. Moreover, centres are imperative for shifting wider behaviours, norms, and collective discourse to discourage all forms of GBV and, eventually, stop its occurrence.
> $55M 
$55M - $25M
$25M - $5M
< $5M
