Zambia: Consultative Workshop on Sexual Violence

• UNESCO

Lusaka, Zambia – On 6 January 2011, the Ministry of Education mobilized close to 900 pupils and 100 stakeholders for an awareness-raising activity and National Consultative Workshop on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the learning environment.

The one-day workshop was organized by the Zambian National Commission for UNESCO with financial, technical and logistical support from UNESCO, UNICEF, the Forum of African Women Educationalists of Zambia and the Campaign for Female Education. The Hon. Ms. Dora Siliya, Minister of Education, officially opened the workshop and addressed the schoolchildren, saying the workshop came at an opportune time with the Parliament close to ratification of a bill to strengthen the legal framework around sexual and gender-based violence.

Recommendations from the workshop included: better enforcement of laws on SGBV; establishment of a practicing license for the teaching profession that can be withdrawn when a teacher is found to have perpetrated SGBV crimes; incorporation of SGBV in the curriculum in teacher training and learning institutions; and the establishment of SGBV-related topics and other life skills curricula as examinable subjects.

Through the Harare Cluster Office, UNESCO will collaborate with other development partners under the guidance of the Ministry of Education to fully support follow-up activities to the consultative workshop.

• Author(s):UNESCO
• 15-03-2011