IJM Zambia Field Office Director Pamela Mumbi presented on IJM’s successful casework efforts to protect women and girls from gender-based violence at the congressional briefing “Gender-Based Violence and HIV/AIDS: Programs that Work” on January 24. The event, co-sponsored by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Global Health Caucus, featured a panel discussion on the link between violence against women and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mumbi was joined on the panel by Dr. Mary Ellsberg, Senior Advisor for Gender, Violence and Human Rights at PATH, a global health organization, and Dr. Nata Duvvury, Director of Gender, Violence and Rights at International Center for Research on Women.

The briefing was held at critical juncture, as Congress prepares to reauthorize funding for PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and begins legislative action on the International Violence Against Women Act.

Mumbi spoke about IJM Zambia’s casework to investigate and prosecute acts of sexual violence against children – casework that illuminates the link between gender-based violence and the spread of AIDS.

Mumbi shared the story of two-year-old Pelekani*, raped by a neighbor who believed the assault would cure him of AIDS. When Pelekani was brought to the local medical officer for an examination in the aftermath of the abuse, he filed a report so vague that it was useless in court.

Mumbi said that the lack of forensic capacity exemplified in Pelekani’s case is caused by insufficient training for medical professionals on Zambia’s sexual violence laws and a lack of proper equipment to appropriately document abuse. This systemic weakness disproportionately affects women and girls as victims of sexual abuse.

Mumbi explained how IJM Zambia casework encourages structural change that will reduce poor women and children’s vulnerability to gender-based violence. IJM’s all-Zambian staff works to provide victim relief, perpetrator accountability and aftercare for victims of sexual violence and illegal property seizure. The staff holds training sessions for Zambian police and medical examiners to build capacity for investigations of sexual violence, as well as community trainings on Zambia’s laws on sexual violence and illegal property seizure to enable citizens to respond to these crimes in their communities.

Last year, IJM Zambia provided tangible relief to 168 clients, the vast majority of whom were victims of gender-based crimes – chiefly illegal property seizure and sexual violence. Sexual violence against women and girls is an engine of the AIDS epidemic – working to protect those vulnerable to this abuse is both a health and human rights issue.