VZCZCXRO6007
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #0579/01 2310832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190832Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7221
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000579 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV KCRM ZA KWMN
SUBJECT: WJEI PROGRAM: TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK 
 
¶1. Summary: Zambia's Women's Justice and Empowerment 
Initiative (WJEI) is a collaborative effort involving USAID, 
USDOJ, and the Government of Zambia (GRZ) to address 
gender-based violence (GBV).  Initiated in February 2008, the 
WJEI program in Zambia is approaching the midpoint in its 
implementation.  Despite positive advances, serious obstacles 
continue as WJEI enters its second implementation phase, 
ultimately transferring ownership to the GRZ by the 2011 
target. 
 
¶2. WJEI began in February 2008 with the award of a USAID 
contract to CARE International and signature of a MOU with 
the GRZ.  WJEI has three focal areas: education and 
awareness-raising; providing support to GBV survivors; and 
law enforcement, prosecution, investigation, and adjudication 
of GBV cases. 
 
¶3. High prevalence of GBV and inadequate law enforcement made 
Zambia a prime candidate for the WJEI program.  The 2007 
Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) reported that 20 
percent of women aged 15-49 experienced sexual violence and 
47 percent encountered physical abuse.  Husbands and live-in 
partners comprised the majority of perpetrators in reported 
cases.  To avoid prosecution, attackers commonly use 
intimidation or monetary settlements to force women to 
withdraw GBV charges, compromising access to justice.  In 
contrast, USAID's 2009 baseline survey found that 59 percent 
of police and 43 percent of judicial officials believed GBV 
cases were highly prosecuted. 
 
¶4. USAID implements the education, awareness, and survivor 
support components of WJEI through a contract awarded to CARE 
International's "A Safer Zambia" (ASAZA) consortium. 
Partners include Africare, World Vision (WV), Young Women's 
Christian Association (YWCA), Women in Law in Southern Africa 
(WLSA), International Justice Mission (IJM), Police Victim 
Support Unit (VSU), and Child Justice Forum.  The USDOJ's 
Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and 
Training Program (OPDAT) and International Criminal 
Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) execute 
the justice components through police, prosecutorial, and 
judiciary training and support. 
 
Advancements 
 
¶5. Key accomplishments from the first phase include: 
--OPDAT trained over 240 police prosecutors in case-building, 
case presentation techniques, and handling GBV survivors as 
witnesses.  These trained prosecutors are responsible for 
prosecuting GBV-related crimes. 
--OPDAT has combined resources with UNICEF and CARE to enable 
a higher number of participants to attend training courses 
and eliminate duplicative efforts.  This has proved very 
successful. 
--ICITAP trained 114 police prosecutors, Victim Support Unit 
(VSU) and criminal investigation officers during its three 
basic criminal investigations (BCI) courses held in two of 
Zambia's nine provinces.  ICITAP also trained 43 of the same 
officers in instructor development technical groups.  The 
Zambian trainers will provide ongoing GBV training to fellow 
police officers.  The VSU evolved from the Zambia Police Act 
of 1999 to increase law enforcement accountability to 
marginalized groups and improve community policing. 
--ICITAP completed a Manual for the Investigation of GBV for 
VSU personnel to guide field police officers after training. 
--USAID-sponsored media outreach promotes GBV prevention, 
education, women's rights, and stigma reduction towards GBV 
survivors.  These messages have reached over 2 million people 
since the media campaign began. 
--Community and school-based campaigns educated about 7,000 
people on GBV. 
--YWCA reactivated its Men's Network, training 57 men as 
advocates against GBV. 
--USAID/CARE educated almost 500 community leaders on 
supporting legal reform and promoting GBV prevention. 
--CARE, WV, and YWCA established seven Coordinated Response 
Centers (CRCs) in six districts (Lusaka, Kabwe, Mazabuka, 
Chipata, Ndola, and Livingstone).  The eighth CRC is expected 
to open in the Kitwe district before the end of 2009.  CRCs 
are institutions for GBV victims to centrally access health, 
legal, and counseling services. 
--USAID partners have provided support to 1,700 GBV victims 
and sheltered 546 GBV survivors. 
 
Limitations 
 
¶6. USAID and USDOJ have identified partner coordination, 
volunteer retention, and poor facility capacity as major 
constraints in the WJEI program.  The GRZ Ministry of Health 
(MoH) delay in authorizing its MOU slowed the incorporation 
of CRCs in prime locations at local hospitals.  Additionally, 
weak incentives and meager stipends account for low volunteer 
retention.  WJEI partners explained that volunteers often use 
 
LUSAKA 00000579  002 OF 002 
 
 
skill-sets acquired from training to leverage better paying 
employment elsewhere, creating high turnover rates.  Low 
volunteer numbers and MoH setbacks account for CRCs providing 
subpar support to GBV victims.  In mid-June,  USAID and USDOJ 
conducted an unannounced visit to assess the Mtendere CRC. 
The agencies discovered the CRC facility was padlocked closed 
at midday, during normal operating hours.  There was no 
adequate explanation provided to account for the closed 
facility.  The two agencies also visited a CRC at a Lusaka 
YWCA during the same time period.  This YWCA CRC had only one 
volunteer working as a paralegal, a VSU officer, and the CRC 
coordinator to handle GBV victims.  In theory, a CRC would 
have a staff of six--a CRC coordinator, VSU officer, 
counselor, paralegal, doctor, and a nurse. 
 
¶7. USDOJ has also expressed concern over establishing GRZ 
project ownership.  GRZ's Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and 
the Police Department's Human Resources Office have expressed 
unwillingness to provide essential funding for sustaining the 
WJEI program.  Despite WJEI training, police have 
difficulties performing basic functions like conducting 
investigations from lack of fundamental supplies (i.e. 
vehicles, office supplies, and communication devices).  USDOJ 
linked difficulties in encouraging MoHA and Ministry of 
Justice (MoJ) participation to deeply-rooted systemic 
problems, specifically excessive internal turnover rates and 
no office permanently designated to manage WJEI within the 
ministries. 
 
Way Forward 
 
¶8. USDOJ and USAID have tempered expectations over WJEI's 
second implementation phase, which will transition WJEI 
participants from building institutional capacity to strongly 
emphasizing community and GRZ project ownership.  WJEI 
partners have agreed to focus greater attention on promoting 
GRZ participation.  USAID plans to scale up assessments of 
CRCs progress, such as hiring 'mystery shoppers' to evaluate 
their treatment as GBV victims.  To formulate useful 
statistical data, both agencies will push for CRC 
coordinators and VSU officers to maintain accurate records of 
GBV victims and follow-up with their cases in the judicial 
system.  In response to positive feedback from VSU officers, 
USDOJ will increase its training opportunities to meet 
demand.  USDOJ will also continue to coordinate with other 
NGOs and donors with similar programs to reduce information 
overlap and duplication of effort. 
 
¶9. Recently, the press have proactively highlighted GBV 
occurrences, declaring the practice a violation of human 
rights.  The media also commends NGO and donor programs 
geared towards establishing support structures for GBV 
victims.  VSU officers, prosecutors, and CRC employees all 
express gratitude for training and insist GBV training be 
expanded to supervisory positions for a larger, more 
sustainable impact. 
 
¶10. Comment: At the working level, Zambians are enthusiastic 
about receiving GBV training.  Once trained, these groups are 
motivated to expanding GBV awareness within their 
communities.  However, WJEI partners continue to encounter 
resistance at the institutional level in gathering support, 
particularly financial, for the program. 
BOOTH