Gender-based violence (GBV) is endemic in Zambia, with half of Zambian women having experienced
some form of GBV in their lives. The passing of the Anti-Gender-Based Violence Act (Anti-GBV
Act) is a marked progress in the struggle against pervasive violence which has its roots in social and
gender exclusion and power imbalance, horizontal inequalities and poverty. However, five years after
enactment, implementing the Act and other laws and policies in Zambia that promote and protect
persons from GBV has been far less successful.
Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) with the support from the European Union led a field case study to
examine the lacunae in implementation, and the barriers that exist which impede GBV survivors to
seek protection under the Anti-GBV Act.
