Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LUSAKA579
2009-08-19 08:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Lusaka
Cable title:  

WJEI PROGRAM: TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK

Tags:  KDEM PGOV KCRM ZA KWMN 
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VZCZCXRO6007
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #0579/01 2310832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190832Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7221
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000579 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV KCRM ZA KWMN
SUBJECT: WJEI PROGRAM: TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000579

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV KCRM ZA KWMN
SUBJECT: WJEI PROGRAM: TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK


1. Summary: Zambia's Women's Justice and Empowerment
Initiative (WJEI) is a collaborative effort involving USAID,
USDOJ, and the Government of Zambia (GRZ) to address
gender-based violence (GBV). Initiated in February 2008, the
WJEI program in Zambia is approaching the midpoint in its
implementation. Despite positive advances, serious obstacles
continue as WJEI enters its second implementation phase,
ultimately transferring ownership to the GRZ by the 2011
target.


2. WJEI began in February 2008 with the award of a USAID
contract to CARE International and signature of a MOU with
the GRZ. WJEI has three focal areas: education and
awareness-raising; providing support to GBV survivors; and
law enforcement, prosecution, investigation, and adjudication
of GBV cases.


3. High prevalence of GBV and inadequate law enforcement made
Zambia a prime candidate for the WJEI program. The 2007
Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) reported that 20
percent of women aged 15-49 experienced sexual violence and
47 percent encountered physical abuse. Husbands and live-in
partners comprised the majority of perpetrators in reported
cases. To avoid prosecution, attackers commonly use
intimidation or monetary settlements to force women to
withdraw GBV charges, compromising access to justice. In
contrast, USAID's 2009 baseline survey found that 59 percent
of police and 43 percent of judicial officials believed GBV
cases were highly prosecuted.


4. USAID implements the education, awareness, and survivor
support components of WJEI through a contract awarded to CARE
International's "A Safer Zambia" (ASAZA) consortium.
Partners include Africare, World Vision (WV),Young Women's
Christian Association (YWCA),Women in Law in Southern Africa
(WLSA),International Justice Mission (IJM),Police Victim
Support Unit (VSU),and Child Justice Forum. The USDOJ's
Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and
Training Program (OPDAT) and International Criminal
Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) execute
the justice components through police, prosecutorial, and
judiciary training and support.

Advancements


5. Key accomplishments from the first phase include:
--OPDAT trained over 240 police prosecutors in case-building,
case presentation techniques, and handling GBV survivors as

witnesses. These trained prosecutors are responsible for
prosecuting GBV-related crimes.
--OPDAT has combined resources with UNICEF and CARE to enable
a higher number of participants to attend training courses
and eliminate duplicative efforts. This has proved very
successful.
--ICITAP trained 114 police prosecutors, Victim Support Unit
(VSU) and criminal investigation officers during its three
basic criminal investigations (BCI) courses held in two of
Zambia's nine provinces. ICITAP also trained 43 of the same
officers in instructor development technical groups. The
Zambian trainers will provide ongoing GBV training to fellow
police officers. The VSU evolved from the Zambia Police Act
of 1999 to increase law enforcement accountability to
marginalized groups and improve community policing.
--ICITAP completed a Manual for the Investigation of GBV for
VSU personnel to guide field police officers after training.
--USAID-sponsored media outreach promotes GBV prevention,
education, women's rights, and stigma reduction towards GBV
survivors. These messages have reached over 2 million people
since the media campaign began.
--Community and school-based campaigns educated about 7,000
people on GBV.
--YWCA reactivated its Men's Network, training 57 men as
advocates against GBV.
--USAID/CARE educated almost 500 community leaders on
supporting legal reform and promoting GBV prevention.
--CARE, WV, and YWCA established seven Coordinated Response
Centers (CRCs) in six districts (Lusaka, Kabwe, Mazabuka,
Chipata, Ndola, and Livingstone). The eighth CRC is expected
to open in the Kitwe district before the end of 2009. CRCs
are institutions for GBV victims to centrally access health,
legal, and counseling services.
--USAID partners have provided support to 1,700 GBV victims
and sheltered 546 GBV survivors.

Limitations


6. USAID and USDOJ have identified partner coordination,
volunteer retention, and poor facility capacity as major
constraints in the WJEI program. The GRZ Ministry of Health
(MoH) delay in authorizing its MOU slowed the incorporation
of CRCs in prime locations at local hospitals. Additionally,
weak incentives and meager stipends account for low volunteer
retention. WJEI partners explained that volunteers often use

LUSAKA 00000579 002 OF 002


skill-sets acquired from training to leverage better paying
employment elsewhere, creating high turnover rates. Low
volunteer numbers and MoH setbacks account for CRCs providing
subpar support to GBV victims. In mid-June, USAID and USDOJ
conducted an unannounced visit to assess the Mtendere CRC.
The agencies discovered the CRC facility was padlocked closed
at midday, during normal operating hours. There was no
adequate explanation provided to account for the closed
facility. The two agencies also visited a CRC at a Lusaka
YWCA during the same time period. This YWCA CRC had only one
volunteer working as a paralegal, a VSU officer, and the CRC
coordinator to handle GBV victims. In theory, a CRC would
have a staff of six--a CRC coordinator, VSU officer,
counselor, paralegal, doctor, and a nurse.


7. USDOJ has also expressed concern over establishing GRZ
project ownership. GRZ's Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and
the Police Department's Human Resources Office have expressed
unwillingness to provide essential funding for sustaining the
WJEI program. Despite WJEI training, police have
difficulties performing basic functions like conducting
investigations from lack of fundamental supplies (i.e.
vehicles, office supplies, and communication devices). USDOJ
linked difficulties in encouraging MoHA and Ministry of
Justice (MoJ) participation to deeply-rooted systemic
problems, specifically excessive internal turnover rates and
no office permanently designated to manage WJEI within the
ministries.

Way Forward


8. USDOJ and USAID have tempered expectations over WJEI's
second implementation phase, which will transition WJEI
participants from building institutional capacity to strongly
emphasizing community and GRZ project ownership. WJEI
partners have agreed to focus greater attention on promoting
GRZ participation. USAID plans to scale up assessments of
CRCs progress, such as hiring 'mystery shoppers' to evaluate
their treatment as GBV victims. To formulate useful
statistical data, both agencies will push for CRC
coordinators and VSU officers to maintain accurate records of
GBV victims and follow-up with their cases in the judicial
system. In response to positive feedback from VSU officers,
USDOJ will increase its training opportunities to meet
demand. USDOJ will also continue to coordinate with other
NGOs and donors with similar programs to reduce information
overlap and duplication of effort.


9. Recently, the press have proactively highlighted GBV
occurrences, declaring the practice a violation of human
rights. The media also commends NGO and donor programs
geared towards establishing support structures for GBV
victims. VSU officers, prosecutors, and CRC employees all
express gratitude for training and insist GBV training be
expanded to supervisory positions for a larger, more
sustainable impact.


10. Comment: At the working level, Zambians are enthusiastic
about receiving GBV training. Once trained, these groups are
motivated to expanding GBV awareness within their
communities. However, WJEI partners continue to encounter
resistance at the institutional level in gathering support,
particularly financial, for the program.
BOOTH