Joining Forces Alliance Zambia Condemns Rising Cases of Rape and Defilement in Zambia – Calls for Urgent Action

For #immediaterelease, April 1, 2025, Lusaka, Zambia - The Joining Forces Alliance is deeply alarmed by the rising cases of rape and defilement across the country. We are particularly disturbed by the fact that these heinous crimes are being committed by individuals entrusted with the duty to protect children. We commend the Government’s swift action to shut down one facility in Lusaka allegedly perpetrating child abuse and arresting perpetrators.

Children in Zambia are facing an unprecedented threat to their safety and well-being. Reports of sexual violence, including defilement of minors, have surged, leaving countless young girls and boys traumatized and vulnerable. What should be safe spaces for children – homes, schools, and even orphanages – are turning into places of fear. This is unacceptable.
We strongly condemn these acts of violence and betrayal. It is deeply troubling that those who are supposed to protect the children are instead at the forefront of violating the Children’s’ rights. This is immoral and a serious breach of trust that cannot be ignored and requires immediate action.

Our Call to Action:

1. Immediate Investigations and Accountability: We call upon the government to launch swift, independent investigations into all reported cases and ensure that perpetrators, regardless of their position, face the full force of the law.
2. Assistance for Impacted Children: It is crucial to promptly provide psychosocial support, medical treatment, and secure alternative housing for the children affected.
3. Strengthened Child Protection Mechanisms: There is an urgent need to strengthen child protection systems, including increased monitoring, regulation, accreditation and oversight of all child care institutions responsible for child safety.
4. Enhance Family-Based and Institutional Care: Following the recent reports of caregivers being at the helm of abusing children in their care, we call for measures that
   create a hybrid between family and trained institutional care givers; this is to ensure the safety of children in institutional care, and it should be a top priority.
5. Increased Investment in Protection System: There’s need for increased investment in national child protection systems, including trained social workers and effective case management.
6. Legal Reforms: We are elated to note that the President of the Republic of Zambia H.E Hakainde Hichilema has ordered a review of legislation relating to the protection of Children. To this end we urge policy implementers and implementors to prioritize the review and strengthening of existing laws to ensure that individuals who are non-compliant with the responsibility of protecting children face harsher penalties for violations.
7. Public Awareness and Prevention: Addressing this crisis requires a collective effort. We call for intensified awareness campaigns and community engagement to educate the public about children's rights and the importance of reporting abuse.

Sexual violence against children is a crime that destroys lives, shatters futures, and weakens the fabric of our society. The Joining Forces Alliance stands with every survivor and their families in demanding justice. We will not stay silent while children suffer at the hands of those who should protect them.
We call upon all stakeholders i.e., the government, law enforcement agencies, civil society, and the public to act with urgency in ending this crisis. The safety of Zambia’s children must be a national priority.

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For more information, please contact:
• Mirriam Musonda - Email: Mirriam.Musonda@plan-international.org or Call: +260969401066
• Gift Katuta - Email: Gift.Katuta@savethechildren.org or Call: +260762416521
• Petronella Chindumba - Email: petronella.chindumba@sos-zambia.org or Call: +260967892901
• Priscilla Chama - Email: pchama@childfund.org or Call: +260977450009
• Kambani Phiri - Email: Kambani_Phiri@wvi.org or Call: +260970937954

Notes to the Editor:
In 2017, the six largest child-focused agencies, ChildFund International, Plan International, Save the Children International, SOS Children's Villages, Terre des Hommes International Federation, and World Vision International, joined forces. We aim to use our collective power to accelerate change to secure children's rights and end violence against them. We will pilot and scale innovative and effective approaches worldwide and be driven by children's voices and needs.We call upon all stakeholders, i.e., the government, law enforcement agencies, civil society, and the public, to act with urgency in ending this crisis.