Zambia: Integrated Gender Project

Members of a Gender Action Group. © Julianne Stewart/ABM 2017.

 

 

 

 

This is part of the Community Development Program: Learn more about ABM’s Programs here

The challenges posed by gender
inequalities and especially by
gender- based violence (GBV) in
Zambia are multi-faceted, and must involve community action, training and cooperation of the police and municipal authorities, and training and involvement of the Church at all levels.

Following a recent evaluation and then a baseline study conducted by ABM’s partner, the Zambian
Anglican Council Outreach Program (ZACOP), the Church has decided to inaugurate a second three year phase of an integrated gender program.

This will contribute to increased access to quality gender information and services to communities in two districts in the Diocese of Eastern Zambia, by reducing the social, cultural, religious and structural barriers that hinder women and children from accessing their rights, and to provide support that will enhance women’s financial independence.

The specific activities of this new three-year phase of the project will include:

• Providing communities and churches with human rights-based education about the importance of gender equality.
• Directly supporting GBV survivors including ensuring psychosocial support for victims and perpetrators of GBV.
• Advocacy activities that will reinforce people’s adherence to Zambia’s GBV laws and promote quality service provision for survivors of GBV.
• Capacity development of key and influential stakeholders (such as church leaders, on GBV-related issues.
• Enhancing the livelihoods of communities to help reduce the conditions of poverty in which GBV is able to fester.

Since the problem is multi-faceted, the solutions must involve the whole community and related
institutions such as government and church. To address the need for more collaborative partner-ships between the church and NGOs working on the issues of GBV in the two districts, ZACOP is developing a database of other service providers and services available in the project sites for referral
purposes.

The database will be kept at the church’s national office, and will be used by the church’s field officers
and shared with other service providers in the districts. A new approach for this phase is the mobilisation and engagement of teams of men (Men’s Engagement Networks – MENS) in the communities who will work with women as partners to fight GBV.

The aim of this is to influence male counterparts to reflect on issues such as masculinity, socialization
and power and to embrace gender equality as a social norm. ZACOP will engage the MENS in GBV
prevention as agents of change in their communities by conducting capacity building trainings for men.
The members of the MENS will then use various approaches to engage the identified men who are
survivors or perpetrators of GBV, and take them through behaviourchanging processes.

Clergy and traditional community leaders will also be targeted with the training, and it is hoped they will use their influence to lead behaviour change within church and community respectively.

Finally, the project will focus on building the capacity, especially of vulnerable women via business/
entrepreneurship and leadership skills to enable them to achieve household food security, while
building their capacities to take up leadership roles in advocating for their rights. 

Please give your support to this multifaceted project that will make a difference to communities in Zambia.

ZM003GE needs $141,665 in 2018 (tax-deductible)   

 

HOW TO DONATE

You can make an online donation to this project.  

 

Alternatively, for donations by cheque/money order (made out to the Anglican Board of Mission – Australia), telephone or email, view contact details here. Please don’t forget to include the project name and/or code with your payment details.

Gifts to ABM will be applied to the support of project(s) selected. In the unlikely event of the project being oversubscribed or not proceeding to completion, donations will be applied to a similar project to the one(s) selected.

 

Project updateS

September 2017 – The Zambian Anglican Church Outreach Program (ZACOP)  is seeing some amazing changes in the lives of ordinary people. Read more.

September 2016 – ABM recently commissioned an evaluation to assess the value and impact of the Gender and Governance Program in Zambia. The results of this evaluation were recently sent to ABM, with some very positive results. Read more.

  

Gender and Governance: The Church in Zambia

This documentary shares how the Anglican Church in Zambia is working to empower women and improve governance. 

 

 

< Back