Dismantling Gender-Based Violence

NAFIMANE HALWEENDONAMIBIA’S wave of gender-based violence predominantly perpetrated by men against women sweeps across the country at predictable intervals, almost every single day. Similar to expecting the sun to rise and set, Namibian society has somewhat gotten used to the idea that almost every single day, we should hear news of one or other form of gender-based violence (GBV).

If rape and GBV were only committed by men from a specific class, it would be easy to conclude that aspects such as poverty were major contributing factors. But it is evident that lawyers, doctors, taxi drivers and even politicians are all part of the different class groups which commit rape and gender-based violence. The question is thus, what common denominator exists in all these class groups of men that allows a culture of gender-based violence to flourish?

The concept of boiling a frog is useful in answering how men from different walks of life are all capable of being perpetrators of rape and GBV. The analogy states that if you put a frog into hot water it will jump out, but if you put it in cold or tepid water and heat it gradually, it will not perceive the danger it’s in, and you will boil it slowly.

In true cold-water fashion, we facilitate and create an environment for rape and GBV to be committed by men from all class groups the moment we normalise things such as catcalling, unsolicited nudes, groping, stalking, and the sexualisation of women amongst men. It is similar with the boiling frog analogy.

We condition men to feel entitled to touching or verbally harassing women as a ‘light’ issue until you’re later dealing with full- grown adult men who feel entitled to sleeping with any woman they deem fit, or alternatively killing them. We normalise what most think is just “light sexualisation” of women by men from a young age, and become surprised when the end-result is a dead body.

The normalisation of anything that deprives women of their right to dignity and bodily autonomy, regardless of how inconsequential or small it may appear, is the beginning of a culture where women can be raped, or have their throats slit. The extreme violence is thus an end-result of ‘small’ everyday conduct that we, men, do, and that we, society as a whole, expect women to endure.

The problem of rape and GBV is thus one that is deeply rooted in two things, the way women are viewed insofar as their human dignity is concerned, coupled with the way men are to be treated in so far as their accountability is concerned. This is visible in the discussions that emanate from incidents of rape and GBV, where the question is always centred on how the victim pre-empted her rights being violated, and how the perpetrator’s conduct can be understood from one societal angle or another.

As a society, we treat women as if they have to pass a specific examination in order for their right to life and human dignity to be fully unlocked and handed over to them. At the same time, we treat men as if their ability to violate others is somehow innate, and must be carefully monitored and trimmed down to modern-day standards.

We forget that the right to life and human dignity in Articles 6 and 8 of the Namibian Constitution is automatic. Women are entitled to live their lives unhindered by men, regardless of how much you find them attractive, what your upbringing is, what they are wearing, how drunk they are, what your social conditioning is, and what gifts and presents you have bought them.

Until we men start seeing women as full, equal members of society, who deserve all rights under the Constitution and who are not subservient to us, the ongoing rape and GBV will never stop. Stricter sentences may not even be the answer, seeing as most men kill their girlfriends and then kill themselves. The answer lies in a changed mindset, by men.

• Nafimane Halweendo holds a B-juris degree from Unam and an LLB honours degree from Unisa. Follow me on Twitter:@Naffy101

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