Poverty, alcohol abuse worsen GBV in Kavango West
Kenya Kambowe
Nkurenkuru
The high levels of poverty, teenage pregnancy, alcohol abuse and couples going on outings together are among the biggest contributors to the high number of domestic violence and gender-based violence (GBV) cases reported in the Kavango West Region.
This is according to Kavango West police commander, Commissioner Josephat Abel, who on Friday during a press briefing told reporters that domestic violence cases top the list as the most committed crime in the region.
Without providing statistics on the number of cases, Abel said that domestic violence is the most common crime in the region, followed by stock theft and the theft of protected resources.
“The contributing factor of domestic violence in the region is the cultural beliefs, alcohol abuse and, of course, poverty,” he said.
“Culture is playing a role in the sense that a woman and a man spend their precious time at a shebeen until late. When they come home, the man will ask where the food is. They both spend time at the shebeen but the belief is that because I am a man, I must eat.
“You find a child under 18 having a child. A kid with kid. It looks like it is seen that a woman is just a woman regardless of the age; it’s a contributing factor for domestic violence.
“Poverty also plays a role because most of the women are dependent on the men. Whether the man is working or not working, the women have the belief that he is a man and he must do something. So those are combinations of the phenomena which needs to be addressed,” Abel said.
He further urged community members to refrain from criminal activities, or else face the wrath of the law.
[email protected]
Nkurenkuru
The high levels of poverty, teenage pregnancy, alcohol abuse and couples going on outings together are among the biggest contributors to the high number of domestic violence and gender-based violence (GBV) cases reported in the Kavango West Region.
This is according to Kavango West police commander, Commissioner Josephat Abel, who on Friday during a press briefing told reporters that domestic violence cases top the list as the most committed crime in the region.
Without providing statistics on the number of cases, Abel said that domestic violence is the most common crime in the region, followed by stock theft and the theft of protected resources.
“The contributing factor of domestic violence in the region is the cultural beliefs, alcohol abuse and, of course, poverty,” he said.
“Culture is playing a role in the sense that a woman and a man spend their precious time at a shebeen until late. When they come home, the man will ask where the food is. They both spend time at the shebeen but the belief is that because I am a man, I must eat.
“You find a child under 18 having a child. A kid with kid. It looks like it is seen that a woman is just a woman regardless of the age; it’s a contributing factor for domestic violence.
“Poverty also plays a role because most of the women are dependent on the men. Whether the man is working or not working, the women have the belief that he is a man and he must do something. So those are combinations of the phenomena which needs to be addressed,” Abel said.
He further urged community members to refrain from criminal activities, or else face the wrath of the law.
[email protected]
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