The police count for the third quarter is higher than the second, and higher than a year ago. In a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday 30 October, the Zambia Police Service spokesperson, Chipo Kaitisha, said 12,637 gender-based violence cases were recorded countrywide between 1 July and 30 September 2026: 7,972 criminal cases and 4,665 non-criminal ones. Zambia Monitor and News Diggers both reported the statement. For April to June, News Diggers reported in September, the police had recorded 10,881 cases, 7,261 of them criminal, so the quarter's total is about 1,750 higher.
Lusaka Province recorded the most criminal cases, 1,610, or about a fifth of the total, followed by Luapula with 1,179 and the Copperbelt with 984, according to Zambia Monitor's account of the provincial table. Western Province had 799, Eastern 707, the Airport Division 692, Southern 629, Central 512, North-Western 436, Northern 238 and Muchinga 137; the TAZARA Division, with 49, was lowest.
Who the victims were
Women and girls accounted for 10,167 cases, or 80.5 per cent, and men and boys for 2,470. Children were victims in 2,751 cases, 21.8 per cent of the total and 433 more than the 2,318 recorded in the same quarter of 2025; 2,156 of the child victims were in criminal cases, 1,656 girls and 500 boys. Physical abuse was the largest category, with 4,154 cases, 3,534 of them assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and women were 85.4 per cent of those victims. Economic abuse, mostly the failure to provide necessities of life, accounted for 2,350 cases. Sexual abuse accounted for 957, of which 648 were child defilement, with Lusaka recording 152 of those and Southern Province 100; the police also listed 104 rapes, 21 attempted rapes, 71 indecent assaults and 14 cases of incest. There were 500 cases of emotional and psychological abuse and six of human trafficking.
Forty-nine of the cases were murders, up from 30 in the same quarter last year, involving 24 women, nine men, 11 boys and five girls. The Victim Support Unit counselled 8,914 people over the quarter, 5,043 in criminal matters and 3,871 in non-criminal ones. Kaitisha said the service would strengthen investigations, community sensitisation, child protection and work with other agencies, and called for stronger prevention and response measures. The statement, as reported, did not give the overall total for the third quarter of 2025, only the increases in child victims and murders.
Women and girls remain disproportionately affected by GBV, accounting for 10,167 cases representing 80.5 percent.
— Chipo Kaitisha, Zambia Police Service spokesperson, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday 30 October, as quoted by Zambia Monitor
July to September 2026, per the police statement
- 12,637 cases: 7,972 criminal, 4,665 non-criminal (Q2: 10,881, per News Diggers)
- Victims: 10,167 women and girls (80.5%); 2,470 men and boys; 2,751 children (up 433 on Q3 2025)
- Physical abuse 4,154; economic abuse 2,350; sexual abuse 957, including 648 child defilements; emotional abuse 500; trafficking 6
- Murders: 49, from 30 a year earlier
- Highest provinces (criminal cases): Lusaka 1,610; Luapula 1,179; Copperbelt 984
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: The quarterly totals, the criminal and non-criminal split and the provincial ranking are reported by both Zambia Monitor and News Diggers from the police statement of 30 October. The second-quarter figures are from News Diggers' report of 5 September.
Alleged or unverified: The detailed breakdown by type of abuse and the year-on-year comparisons are reported by Zambia Monitor alone; News Diggers' full report is behind its paywall. Zambia Monitor noted that the percentages the statement gives for physical and economic abuse appear to use different bases.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Zambia records 12,637 gender-based violence in 90 days” (30 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Police record 12,637 GBV cases in Q3 2026” (31 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Zambia records over 10,000 GBV cases in Q2 of 2026” (5 Sep 2026).