PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has described violence against women and children as the worst form of human rights violation and said the Government will do everything within its means to end the crime.

President Banda said in Lusaka yesterday when he launched the national communication campaign to end gender-based violence that any form of violence devastated lives and fractured communities, impeding development in the nation.

Mr Banda said this in a speech read for him by Gender and National Development Minister Sarah Sayifwanda.

The President said that the well-being, promise and talents of millions of women were destroyed due to violence.

He said gender based violence had a negative bearing on the social and economic development of Zambia.

In order to enhance citizen participation in social and economic development, there was need to create an environment that protected the vulnerable, especially girls and women.

He said the phenomenon of gender-based violence was widespread and that not a single day passed without a report of a child or women being sexually abused or suffering from the gender specific abuse.

The abuse encompassed a wide range of human rights violations, sexual abuse of children, rape, domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, trafficking of women and girls and several other harmful traditional practices.

The high incidence of sexual abuse of women is a major sourceof concern to Zambia the rest of southern Africa sub-region where women and girls had been exposed to violence and increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Mr Banda said the Government and co-operating partners were working towards enacting the gender-based violence Bill, which would include provisions that protect both males and females.

President Banda said the Government had identified some laws and traditional practices that negatively affected the empowerment of women.

He said it was sad that since the 2004 regional symposium on sexual and gender-based violence was held, not much progress has been made in effecting positive change and hoped the launch of the national communication campaign was the beginning to end violence and human trafficking.

As a signatory to key international conventions such as the convention on the rights of the child and the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, there was need for Zambia to domesticate them.

Mr Banda paid tribute to United Nations Children Fund, United States for International Development , World Vision, Care International and International Justice Mission for the support.

Community Development and Social Welfare Minister Michael Kaingu said a survey conducted last year revealed that more than 1000 children were defiled and more than 200 women raped in 2008.

American deputy ambassador Michael Koplovsky said that any form of violation of women and children's rights should be stopped.

Mr Koplovsky said women were key to progress and prosperity in Zambia and around the world hence the need to protect them.

European Commission head of delegation Derek Fee said the commission would provide 1.6 million Euros to Zambia towards human trafficking in the next three years.