GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) remains a great concern within the community of Rehoboth, with dependency being the biggest contributor to the increase in the number of cases there, the Namibian Police says.
In comparison to the festive season of 2016, where 29 cases were reported and 11 cases in 2017, 39 GBV cases were reported at the town in 2018.
In a recent interview with Nampa, the acting unit commander of the police’s Gender-based Violence Protection Unit at Rehoboth, Stephanus Beukes, said educating members of the community, and awareness from the police and social workers on GBV issues can help combat the crisis.
“There is so much a unit can do when faced with a GBV-related case. The biggest problem is that the affected parties are very dependent on the suspects, which leads to cases being withdrawn and also the retrieval of reports made,” he explained.
This is because if the suspect is in custody, there will not be anyone to feed or take care of the family, as in many cases most of the victims are not able to provide for themselves.
This does not help the case, nor the victim, because the moment the accused is released, the abuse continues, which sometimes gets out of hand, he added.
However, the unit does issue formal warnings to suspected offenders, and also provides mediation between the parties affected.
Beukes then applauded the relationship the unit has with the police station of the town, but encouraged training for the officers on duty at the station, to sensitise them on GBV cases, as well as how to deal with such.
He further explained that when a victim has been raped, it’s not ideal to go to the station and talk in front of everyone present about the trauma.
Men also suffer abuse, open cases and later withdraw them because of the stigma, and also because they do not want to send their child’s mother to prison, the officer observed, adding that male victims usually suffer in silence.
– Nampa
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