The Girls Empowerment Network (GENET), has introduced counseling Call Centre with a toll free line 3086 with an aim of helping girls and young women to access counseling information when they have faced various challenges for example Gender Based Violence (GBV).

Faith Mapemba, GENET Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator said they have decided to implement the initiative after observing the problems that are affecting girls and young women in the country.

“While implementing our various projects more specifically during the period of Covid-19 pandemic, the Country registered a lot of abuse cases and with the quarantining and government curfews women and girls could not get the support they needed”, Mapemba said

She added that the reason GENET has introduced the counseling toll free initiative is that girls and young women should reach them and get the help they need after facing the GBV and other forms of abuse.

Fred Simwaka, Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare spokesperson,  appreciated GENET for its development.

“Girls and women in the country face a lot of problems but they are not voiced out, therefore the counseling call centre which GENET has introduced will help these girls and young women to freely voice out their concerns,” Simwaka said.

GENET is one of the organisations which gives counseling to girls and young women when faced with gender based violence for example rape.