LUSAKA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Zambia recorded an increase in gender-based violence cases during the third quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year, police said on Thursday.

The southern African nation saw the number of gender-based violence cases increasing to 6,114 during the period from 5,096 last year, representing a 16.7 percent rise, according to police spokesperson Esther Mwaata-Katongo.

She said 24 gender-based violence related murder cases were reported during the period, a 29.2 percent increase from 17 cases reported during the same period last year.

The police also recorded 664 cases of child defilements during the same period, representing a 10.9 percent of the total gender-based violence cases, she added.

Lusaka, the country's capital, accounted for the largest number of defilement cases with 320 cases, followed by the southern part of the country with 73 cases, while the eastern part recorded 60 cases and 49 cases were recorded from the Copperbelt Province, she said.

The police spokesperson attributed the rise in reports of gender-based violence cases to many interventions put in place by stakeholders which have raised awareness on the vice.