A nation of abusers

The latest study on gender-based violence in Namibia has shockingly revealed that 32% of married women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced some kind of violence during their marriages.

Only 4% of gender violence victims went to the police. According to the Landscaping Gender-based Violence in Namibia report released by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) one in three women between the ages of 15 to 49 have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence from their husbands. A further 6% of women have experienced violence while they were pregnant and 15% of women never sought help or told anybody about their experiences, after being abused. Furthermore, 28% of women and 22% of men believe there are reasons to justify a husband beating his wife and 29.5% of young men agree that a husband may beat his wife, while 24% of young women agree with this. The report stressed the need for reliable and up-to-date data, which is a key starting point for both the development of new strategies and the assessment of existing practices on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response policies.









Despite this there is no national GBV database in Namibia. This is a pressing concern, the report noted.

According to the IPPR, basic data from GBV cases that is disaggregated by age, type of offence and the relationship between the perpetrator and victim is needed.

“This information should be collected by the first responders - the police - at all stations and at the GBV protection units, but also by health workers at health facilities.

“This must then be fed into a national database where it can be analysed and disseminated. The lack of coordinated data collection system mean that data is collected haphazardly and is not always comparable, due to different collection methods,” the report said.

It was, therefore, recommended that data collection systems that collect the most basic data be set up at all key services points that do not already collect this information, and that is then be fed into a national database.

This database would allow GBV interventions to be effectively planned and assessed.

However managing such a database would be a significant undertaking and therefore careful consideration about the capabilities of various state institutions is needed before government issues an official mandate.

According to the report, Namibia has a long way to go in terms of achieving meaningful change, and a robust system that ensures that perpetrators are held responsible, is an important first step.



Leadership lacking

“But the question of leadership is one that comes up time and time again.”

The report said that while gender-based violence may not be a public occurrence in government, it is undeniable that there is a sense of gender discrimination in government spaces.

An example of this is the lack of participation by women parliamentarians in parliament, despite the recent significant improvement in terms of representation. Even when women are in positions of power, it is not guaranteed that they will have access to similar levels of participation.

“The expectation on women in power to lead the charge on gender equality stands in direct opposition to a crucial reality about challenging gender discrimination: it must be a priority for every member of society.”



Miniskirt comments

The report also addressed victim blaming and specifically mentioned the incident where police chief, Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga, warned women to refrain from wearing revealing clothing in public, claiming it amounted to public indecency.

According to the IPPR, the implication of these types of comments is that women appearing 'indecent' in public could provoke unwanted advances and contribute to the already high levels of GBV in the country.

Addressing the term “passion killing” that is used when a woman is murdered by her partner, the IPPR said it needs to be understood there is no passion in killing.

“The only passion is within their power and ego. The other person is just brutally humiliated, disrespected and killed.”

Analysis of GBV media coverage from April last year to April 2018 reflected that abuse and domestic violence appeared at least 26% of the time in print and broadcast media in Namibia, the report said.

It further showed that GBV received more media coverage compared to other issues, such as child marriages, poaching and cybercrime. During the period studied, the results indicate that coverage of GBV cases in Namibia has increased.

The IPPR concludes that policies made without a full picture of reality are unlikely to have the intended impact, and given government's current financial restrictions, the most logical and just approach is one that takes this into account.

This makes the importance of up-to-date and disaggregated data even more crucial.



Honest assessment

“What is needed is an honest assessment both of resources available and of past limitations and failures. Only then can actions be assigned in a way that works.”

The IPPR says that many of the structures are already in place, but are not efficiently utilised.

“However, it will mean that the status quo that currently dictates the current gender landscape will need to be actively challenged, including by those who benefit from it. This applies not only to parliament, but in every sphere in society, experienced physical violence as gender discrimination is not limited to one arena.”

ELLANIE SMIT