Solwezi gets SECA support to combat GBV

Self Empowered Communities Association (SECA) organisation has come on board in Solwezi District to help fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV). Site coordinator Chileshe Mwape told the media in an exclusive interview in Solwezi today that SECA was currently running a project called men’s engagement in the fight against gender-based violence and are working with various males in the communities who are the champions of GBV in the Communities. Ms Mwape said so far, they have trained 10 young men who will be reaching out to their fellow men in the communities.

” We are trying to build a society where we mentor boys to be responsible adult men, ” It is a boys to men program that we are running at the moment,” he said. She said these are mentors who are coming from various communities such Mbonge, Kimeteto, Kipemba, Kabwela and Solwezi. Ms Mwape said the people they were training will be found in communities and also doing outreach programs in the schools.

” The people we are training are just focusing on the young men. We also earlier trained 20 males who are found in the communities and are reaching out to male adults,” she said. She said this group of males were targeting adult males by trying to bring in the concept of Insaka in the community and discussed issues that related to males.

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Ms Mwape said they were focusing on men because men were alleged to be perpetrators of GBV. ” What we are doing is we are trying to bring up the concept of the Insaka meetings. So, they will be holding the Insaka meetings where they will be discussing issues which relate to the males themselves.

This time we want to focus on men because you are seen to be perpetrators, so we feel you need to be heard and so we are creating that platform,” she said. She said SECA had created these platforms so that men could discuss their issues freely without feeling shy.

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