Zambia Women and Girls Foundation (ZaWGF) is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-racial Zambian NGO founded in 2007. It works on behalf of women and girls who have been sexually abused and aims at preventing domestic and gender based violence and to protect women and girl children from being sexually abused and exploited by advocating and lobbying decision makers to pass laws against harmful traditional practices as well as rehabilitate the victims by creating a supportive environment where they will regain their full potential for the rest of their life.
The core activities of the organization include: awareness raising, training of psychosocial counselors at community level, home based care for survivors, managing a transit home, provision of practical legal and psychosocial counseling to victims of gender based violence, such as defilement, rape, HIV/AIDS status. The organization also supports single mothers’ and orphans’ return to School.
Research has shown that victims of sexual violence in Zambia come from poor background. The high costs of education discourage participation by less privileged groups, and lead to a high drop-out rate.Providing education support to all vulnerable children is thus an extremely effective strategy for prevention of abuse. Education of children in need develops a higher sense of self esteem and this type of intervention helps to break the inter-generational transmission of poverty and ignorance, which underlies much of the exploitation and abuse of children.
The organisation seeks financial support to pay the costs of education for the victims and to organize awareness raising workshops in order to prevent further abuses.
Location: Monze, Zambia
