GBV debate heats up
Justice minister Yvonne Dausab says society's calls for the death penalty and castration do not respond to the question of how to address gender-based violence.
JEMIMA BEUKES
WINDHOEK
Leader of the Landless People's Movement (LPM) Bernadus Swartbooi says it is clear that national leaders have fallen short of generating the “right type of solutions” to deal with the country's daunting gender-based violence (GBV) problem.
According to recent media reports, more than 200 cases are reported to the police's GBV unit on a monthly basis.
According to Swartbooi, there is a need for Namibia to revisit the types of approaches used to deal with the GBV over the years and move away from pedestrian condemnations.
“We have spoken about it time and again. It is not enough - clearly - to use words and speak about castration to condemn these actions.
@I think it is about time we critically look deeper to see what the causes are that result in GBV and how we as a society can curb and also effectively rehabilitate those who are involved,” he said.
Invest in rehabilitation
Swartbooi said it is important to invest in the rehabilitation of offenders.
“I would want to see somebody who went to prison for GBV telling their story about how he or she has rehabilitated themselves. It is important that we are really onboard with this issue,” he said.
Swartbooi was responding to remarks made by gender minister Doreen Sioka in parliament last week, who said Namibian society is “sick”.
Bigger conversations
Justice minister Yvonne Dausab also pointed out that Namibia is a constitutional democracy and the rights on which its value system is rooted is the right to life, non-discrimination and the right to dignity.
She added that society's calls for the death penalty and castration do not respond to the question of how to address concerns about GBV.
“The principle really should be what are the bigger conversations that we should be having?
@And that we have those conversations. We need to think more carefully about how we protect our children, and particularly our children with disabilities,” she said.
Serious issue
Deputy health minister Dr Ester Utjiua Muinjangue said GBV is a serious issue that needs a multisectoral approach, adding that the culprits are mostly men.
She, however, added that the boy child is increasingly falling victim to perpetrators.
“We need to find a sustainable solution, and one important thing to take into account is the voices of men. In most cases, women and girls speak out,” she said.
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
Leader of the Landless People's Movement (LPM) Bernadus Swartbooi says it is clear that national leaders have fallen short of generating the “right type of solutions” to deal with the country's daunting gender-based violence (GBV) problem.
According to recent media reports, more than 200 cases are reported to the police's GBV unit on a monthly basis.
According to Swartbooi, there is a need for Namibia to revisit the types of approaches used to deal with the GBV over the years and move away from pedestrian condemnations.
“We have spoken about it time and again. It is not enough - clearly - to use words and speak about castration to condemn these actions.
@I think it is about time we critically look deeper to see what the causes are that result in GBV and how we as a society can curb and also effectively rehabilitate those who are involved,” he said.
Invest in rehabilitation
Swartbooi said it is important to invest in the rehabilitation of offenders.
“I would want to see somebody who went to prison for GBV telling their story about how he or she has rehabilitated themselves. It is important that we are really onboard with this issue,” he said.
Swartbooi was responding to remarks made by gender minister Doreen Sioka in parliament last week, who said Namibian society is “sick”.
Bigger conversations
Justice minister Yvonne Dausab also pointed out that Namibia is a constitutional democracy and the rights on which its value system is rooted is the right to life, non-discrimination and the right to dignity.
She added that society's calls for the death penalty and castration do not respond to the question of how to address concerns about GBV.
“The principle really should be what are the bigger conversations that we should be having?
@And that we have those conversations. We need to think more carefully about how we protect our children, and particularly our children with disabilities,” she said.
Serious issue
Deputy health minister Dr Ester Utjiua Muinjangue said GBV is a serious issue that needs a multisectoral approach, adding that the culprits are mostly men.
She, however, added that the boy child is increasingly falling victim to perpetrators.
“We need to find a sustainable solution, and one important thing to take into account is the voices of men. In most cases, women and girls speak out,” she said.
[email protected]
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