NGOCC says GBV cases should be handled equally despite the offender

—Non-Governmental Organization Coordinating Council (NGOCC) Chairperson, Beatrice Grillo, says her institution condemns in the strongest terms the brutal assault of a husband by her wife in Lusaka.

Ms Grillo says it is good that the woman who perpetuated the act is behind bars so that the long arm of the law should take its course to deter would be offenders.

She told the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Lusaka today that the arrest of a woman should be commended.

She disclosed that the NGOCC treats Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases equally regardless of gender and that when a woman commits the similar offense, she should be treated the same way as man is treated.

Ms Grillo advised married couples always to learn to dialogue whenever they have a misunderstanding in their homes as opposed to inflicting severe injuries on one another.

She said GBV cases always create pain on innocent children and cited the same case where the woman is now in police custody leaving children alone at home while their father is in hospital nursing serious wounds.

And Ms Grillo has also urged government to increase budgetary allocation in the 2015 national budget in order to fight fully GBV cases in Zambia.

Ms Grillo further lamented that government should also build counselling centres so that GBV victims will be able to receive counselling services across the country.

She stated that the counselling part is missing in most GBV perpetrators, the reason why these cases are not abated in the nation.