Partner with us
Partner with us
Speak One Voice works with churches, faith networks and organisations that want to see violence against women and children end. Here is the challenge, and how we work on it.
Why partner
The church reaches where programmes do not
Speak One Voice works through an institution that is already present in almost every community it serves, and that is trusted there. Faith leaders speak into marriage, family and parenting with an authority no external programme can borrow.
That reach is why consultations with government departments on human trafficking in 2020 concluded that convening a coordinated response would require a neutral party in the form of the church.
The challenge
Violence against women and children in Zambia
Recorded by the police, and by national health surveys.
266,052
cases of gender-based violence reported to Zambia Police
Between 2009 and 2025, 266,052 cases of gender-based violence were reported to Zambia Police. Annual reported cases rose from 9,261 in 2009 to 21,504 in 2017.
| Year | Annual total | Q3 total | Q3 children | Q3 murder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 9,261 | No figure recorded | No figure recorded | No figure recorded |
| 2012 | 12,924 | No figure recorded | No figure recorded | No figure recorded |
| 2015 | 18,088 | 4,951 | 688 | 17 |
| 2016 | 18,540 | 4,235 | 615 | 15 |
| 2017 | 21,504 | 5,096 | 416 | 17 |
| 2018 | No figure recorded | 6,114 | 773 | 24 |
| 2019 | No figure recorded | 6,788 | 664 | 23 |
| 2020 | No figure recorded | 7,640 | No figure recorded | 25 |
These are cases reported to Zambia Police, not a measure of how much violence occurs. Reporting rises when people are able to come forward, which is itself part of what this work seeks to make possible. The cumulative figure runs to 2025; the year-by-year figures supplied to Speak One Voice end in 2020.
Almost half (47%) of all Zambian women have experienced physical violence since age 15.
A large majority of women (85%) and men (69%) believed that a husband is justified in beating his wife for at least one reason.
Our approach
A method, not a message campaign
Speak One Voice trains facilitators drawn from the communities themselves, and equips them with a structured process and a toolkit of its own.
Facilitators carry a group through four steps (Do, Look, Think, Plan), working from material covering religion and culture, prevention and response, parenting, supporting survivors, and trauma awareness. Groups reach their own conclusions and make their own plans, which is what makes the work continue after the facilitator leaves.
How we work, in fullThe evidence
What this has produced so far
Each figure counts one gathering, between 2018 and 2020. Participants overlap between them, so the figures are shown separately rather than added together.
- Participants at the 2019 Regional Conference
- 68
- Participants at the 2020 Regional Facilitators Training
- 50
- Youth peer-to-peer facilitators trained in 2020
- 15
- Radio conversations broadcast in 2020
- 13
- Countries where Community Learning took place
- 4
- Anglican dioceses reached in Malawi
- 4
Delivered across Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, in partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development. See the full record.
Working together
What partnership can look like
Partnerships here have taken different shapes: training delivered with Episcopal Relief & Development, research commissioned with a university, and churches across four countries opening their doors. If your organization sees a fit, the contact details below reach the team directly.
Contact
Start a conversation
If your organisation works on violence against women and children, or you would like to bring this work to your church, we welcome your message.
- sovzambia@gmail.com
- Phone
- 0967 061486
- Office
- Plot 150, Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, Mindolo, Kitwe, Zambia