Zambian Pentecostalism, Gender-Based Violence and Human Rights of Victims

Abstract

In Africa, religion is a central tenet in the lives of the majority of people as it is viewed as being essential to human life and helps in enhancing human well-being. The process of religious evolution has seen the emergence and development of Pentecostalism in Africa. Generally, the church plays an important role in the education and socialization of society and the contention of this chapter is that the Pentecostal Charismatic churches and church leaders can and should play an important role in helping to prevent or eliminate domestic violence. The discussion in this chapter therefore examines Pentecostalism in Africa and, specifically, makes an evaluation of its response to the prevalence of gender-based violence as well as its reaction and response to human rights and dignity of the victims.