Human rights training empowers service providers

The office of the Ombudsman, in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Namibia-Angola office, hosted a three-day human rights workshop in Ondangwa earlier this month.The workshop aimed to provide an understanding of access to justice and the legislative framework to combat gender-based violence, trafficking in persons, and childcare and protection.The training revealed that 1 756 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported between April and July this yearRepresentatives from the Namibian Police Force, and the justice, health, gender equality, and poverty eradication ministries attended the training.Empower the helpersAccording to the governor of Oshana Region, Elia Irimari, the workshop was conceptualised out of the need to capacitate key community representatives with the knowledge to respond to queries from community members.Irimari said GBV continues to be a persistent challenge in Namibia. He described the training as a positive step towards strengthening coordination at the grassroots level."It is important to identify victims of violence, to report suspected instances of violence both in trafficking of persons and GBV," he stressed.Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha said he was pleased with the interaction between the different stakeholders attending the training."Participants should now be well informed about human rights and the procedures to be followed relating to human rights issues," he said.Tackle barriersPresenting at the workshop was acting senior medical officer Josephine Kanyama for the Oshakati district, who often deals with issues of GBV.She said victims often do not speak up due to feelings of shame, fear of judgement and of their partners."As medical officers, we often have to probe deeper to get to the bottom of any signs of violence. I encourage anyone suffering from domestic violence to speak up and get assistance," she said.Senior headmen Ambrosius Iipinge of Oranges Yanashimbuli applauded the Ombudsman&#039;s office and the governor for the initiative."This training was important and has equipped us to better understand human rights. Sometimes we tend to believe that we need to maintain some cultural norms which could be harmful and could contradict the constitution," he said.

Human rights training empowers service providers

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Human rights training empowers service providers

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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