JUSTICE Deputy Minister, Todd Chilembo has reaffirmed the Government's commitment to ensuring that gender based violence is eradicated through the enactment of appropriate legislation.

Mr Chilembo said gender- violence was a sensitive subject and it was important to allow the Government to consult widely to ensure that the legislation presented to Parliament met the requirements of the people it was intended to protect.

He said in a statement in Lusaka that a draft Bill had been circulated to stakeholders as a working document to get more input to be incorporated before it was presented to Parliament.

Early this year, the Zambia Law Development Commission submitted its instructions to the Ministry of Justice after consulting various stakeholders on what would be appropriate to include in legislation to eradicate gender- based violence.

Mr Chilembo said based on the recommendations of the commission, the Ministry of Justice had come up with a draft Bill which the Government had hoped to table before Parliament during the July 2009 sitting.