Evaluating the Effectiveness of Zambia’s Children’s Code Act No.12 of 2022 in Addressing Adolescent Social Issues

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate how the Children’s Code Act No. 12 of 2022 is working or if not working to protect adolescents and how it is responds to the social challenges they face. The Act was introduced as a way of aligning national child- protection laws with international instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Even with such enactment, there are still questions about its real impact on the lives of young people. In trying to establish this, literature from previous research done together with primary data collected from adolescents, community leaders, educators, and child-protection officers, was used. Some findings revealed that while many stakeholders acknowledge the Act’s value, its implementation remains uneven. About 65 percent of adolescents had heard of the Act, and fewer than one-third could describe any of its provisions. The following factors were identified as limitations to the low percentage of those who actually had ability to describe its provisions, limited awareness, resource constraints, and the persistence of cultural norms. Other factors are, Family and community structures which play an important but inconsistent role, with schools and NGOs contributing to sensitisation, in a limited way. The research concluded that the Children’s Code Act clearly provides a strong legal foundation, though its success will depend on how these legal promises are translated into practical, community-based action. It further recommends awareness programs that are stronger, capacity-building for enforcement agencies, and inclusion of families, schools, and traditional leaders to make the Act truly responsive to adolescents’ needs.