Lusaka — Gender based violence represents our collective guilt as countries, societies and communities says Economic Commission for Africa Southern Africa Regional Office, Director Mr Said Adejumobi.

Speaking during the opening of an Expert Meeting on Policy Harmonization in Addressing Gender Based Violence and Securing the Human Rights for Women in Southern Africa, Adejumobi said that Gender based violence (GBV) was an unacceptable mode of social relations and behaviour in a modern society.

Meanwhile, he praised the efforts of many member States in the region for showing leadership and political will in addressing GBV, while calling for further action to implement national policies and programes.

"Gender based violence is not only a question of human rights especially of women, but about human dignity, decency and an acceptable mode of gender relations in society"

Adejumobi Argued that GBV had severe social, economic, and political consequences."Politically, it reinforces unequal power relations and deepens political control of one gender over another. Economically, it limits the capacity of victims to fully realize their potentials and contribute meaningfully to national economic growth and development" he said.

He called upon member States to take action and accelerate implementation of regional and international instruments including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, SADC Declaration on Gender and Development as well as its 2009 Addendum on the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children. The Expert Group Meeting organized by ECA's Subregional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) is part of its mandate to assist member States in regional integration and policy harmonization.

SRO-SA commissioned a report to assess the progress of countries in Southern Africa in addressing GBV. The report assesses and looks at how countries are fairing in meeting national, regional and international commitments towards and equal and fairer society for women and girls. The report shows that SADC member states have made great progress and are the front-runner to many other sub-regions on the continent by crafting laws and putting in place regulations that seek to redress the gender based violence.

However, the report also shows that there are still high levels of gender inequality and gender based violence in the region. The Expert Group Meeting, which brought together leading gender professionals southern Africa met with a view to critically review the systems and strategies that have been put in place to address GBV. The meeting was held in Lusaka, Zambia on 13-14 November, 2013 and was officially opened by Government of Zambia through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women and Gender Affairs.