In Zambia, the YWCA has begun facilitating safe spaces in schools and communities for women to discuss various gender-related issues. The program also provides resources for women and referrals to other services, including counseling, legal advice, and shelters. The safe spaces program is supported by The World YWCA Power to Change Fund and seeks to empower and inform Zambian women.
Issues facing women in Zambia include early marriage, wife inheritance, and sexual cleansing (in which a windowed woman must have sex with one of her husband’s male relatives). Recent advocacy and awareness work has helped to discourage such practices, but they are still condoned and practiced in some areas. Overall, violence against wives is a major challenge in Zambia with only a fraction of victims reporting spousal abuse while many more suffer in silence.
Compiled from: A Call from the YWCA of Zambia (9 May 2011), WUNRN.