Police record 12,637 gender-based violence cases in three months, with 49 murders

The Zambia Police Service recorded 12,637 gender-based violence (GBV) cases across the country in the third quarter of 2026, covering 1 July to 30 September, according to a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday by police spokesperson Chipo Kaitisha. Of these, 7,972 were criminal offences and 4,665 were non-criminal matters such as disputes that did not amount to a crime. Women and girls accounted for 10,167 of the cases, or about 80.5 percent, while 2,470 victims were male. Children were 2,751 of the victims, or 21.8 percent, up by 433 from the 2,318 recorded in the same period of 2025. Within the criminal cases, 2,156 involved children: 1,656 girls and 500 boys. Lusaka Province had the most criminal GBV cases at 1,610, which is 20.2 percent of the total. Luapula followed with 1,179, then Copperbelt with 984, Western with 799 and Eastern with 707. Airport Division had 692, Southern 629, Central 512, North-Western 436, Northern 238 and Muchinga 137. TAZARA Division recorded the fewest at 49. Physical abuse was the biggest category, with 4,154 criminal cases, or 52.1 percent. Of these, 3,534 were assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and women were 85.4 percent of the victims. Police recorded 49 murders linked to GBV, up by 19 from 30 in the same quarter of 2025. The victims were 24 women, nine men, 11 boys and five girls. Economic abuse accounted for 2,350 cases, mostly failure to provide the necessities of life. Sexual abuse accounted for 957 cases, of which 748 victims were girls. Child defilement made up 648 of the sexual cases, with Lusaka recording 152 and Southern Province 100. Police also recorded 104 rapes, 21 attempted rapes, 71 indecent assaults and 14 cases of incest. Emotional and psychological abuse accounted for 500 cases, and there were six cases of human trafficking. The police Victim Support Unit counselled 8,914 people during the quarter, 5,043 in criminal cases and 3,871 in non-criminal cases. ## Why it matters These are cases reported to po