Rape cases hit 112 in 1st quarter of 2025
By George Zulu
The Zambia Police Service says about 112 rape cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Public relations officer Rae Hamoonga said in the same period the country recorded about 22 cases of incest and 62 of indecent assault.
Hamoonga said 24 attempted rape cases were reported, highlighting how vulnerable women and girls have become in Zambia despite efforts to sensitise society.
He said of the total cases reported, 7,170 cases were classified as criminal while 4,007 were non-criminal in nature with Lusaka Province recording the highest number of gender-based violence-related criminal cases.
Hamoonga said of the total cases reported, 2,474 involved child victims with girls accounting for 73.4 per cent, highlighting the vulnerability of female children to GBV.
He said in total, the country recorded 11,177 GBV cases, compared to 9,700 recorded during the same period last year, reflecting a 15.2 percent increase in crimes against women and girls.
Hamoonga said adults accounted for 8,703 cases of GBV victims and of these, 7,185 were women and 1,518 were men, underscoring the continued inconsistent impact of GBV on women.
He said the quarter also recorded one case of attempted murder, reflecting a 50 per cent decrease from the two cases recorded in the first quarter of 2024 and a record of 29 murder cases related to GBV, the same number as the previous year.
