Zambians protest in Lusaka over spate of child rape reports
Zambia's Justice Minister Princess Kasune-Zulu has called for the castration of child rapists as an extreme measure to deter perpetrators and protect children from abuse."How low can we go as a nation? How low can we go as a society? What is happening is sickening. It is beyond laws now - it is up to us as Zambians to interrogate why our morals have decayed," she recently told parliament.Following the reports, civil society organisations, musicians, and individuals held a protest march on Thursday, calling for the government to amend the law to introduce tougher punishments for child rapists.In a petition handed to Vice-President Mutale Nalumango, they demanded the law be changed so that those accused of child rape are not granted bail.In response, Nalumango said the issue concerns everyone and that Zambians must take a stand.
A musician who took part in the protest march told the BBC that "we need to created a safe environment for our children".Daputsa Nkhata-Zulu, also known as Sista D, added that child rapists should be castrated "for the safety of children and also to deprive them of the pride of manhood because they don't deserve it."In just the last three months of 2024, Zambia recorded more than 10,000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) involving children, according to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. These were mostly in the capital, Lusaka.More than 32,000 people received counselling for GBV last year, according to the Zambia Police 2024 annual GBV data analysis.
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