‘We are a nation at war with itself’

Women’s Action for Development (WAD) executive director Salatiel Shinedima is concerned with the current state of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country, saying Namibia is a nation at war with itself.

Speaking to The Namibian during a Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) National Conference in Windhoek last week, Shinedima said the conference aimed to assist various CSOs in building their capacity, making them credible organisations and building their reputation when approaching partners of donors to present credible proposals for more support.

When approached on the sidelines of the conference regarding the current state of violence against women and children, Shinedima expressed his concern, saying CSOs are in many cases the first focus point for victims and survivors of GBV.

“They (CSOs) should have the knowledge and skills to attend to survivors or even perpetrators of violence. It is not only strengthening CSOs in terms of administrative and operational structures, but also in their knowledge on gender issues, gender related laws, gender related concepts, as well as GBV,” he said.

“We are a nation at war with itself and we are in a huge crisis, which we as a nation are struggling to overcome,” Shinedima added.

Last year, national police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the police recorded 10 478 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) between 2020 and July 2022.

Shikwambi said 1 756 cases were reported to the police between April and July 2022.

Between 2020 and 2021, the police recorded 5 122 GBV cases, and between 2021 and July 2022, some 5 356 cases were reported.

At the time, the chief social worker in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Sophia Coetzee, said many women are reluctant to report abusive partners since they are dependent on them.

“Another reason is family influence. They discourage women from reporting GBV to save their marriage,” Coetzee said.

She said many men are survivors of GBV too.

Earlier this year, Oshikoto police regional commander Theopoline Nashikaku called on those with family members going through GBV to stop discouraging them from reporting the culprits to the police.

Shinedima said last week that the government, CSOs and development partners have pumped a lot of funds into combating GBV and creating awareness, as well as responding to cases of GBV, however, more effort must be made and more resources need to be allocated to fight GBV.

He, however, commended the finance ministry for its efforts to allocate more funding to the gender equality ministry for awareness campaigns.

Shinedima said WAD also held a male engagement programme which addressed various topics such as masculinity, in an effort to understand societal changes and how men have evolved and adapted.

“There seems there is some sort of conflict within ourselves as men and there is some confusion understanding what masculinity really means, and this is what we try to define in this male engagement dialogue,” Shinedima said.

Responding to cases of GBV victims at times being reluctant to press charges and even withdrawing cases after being assaulted by their partners, Shinedima said this happens for several reasons.

“There are various reasons like fear of retaliation, family influence and even financial reasons as the perpetrator is the breadwinner of the family or there are children and the victim feels compelled to withdraw the charges.

“The message I have is that when you withdraw the charge or fail to report a case of GBV and meet as a family around the table to discuss and encourage somebody to withdraw a case or a charge against a perpetrator of GBV, you are promoting violence.”

“This sends a message to the perpetrators that it is fine to perpetrate, we will protect you,” he said.

“It is time that we as families send out a stern warning that we will not, as a wife or as a partner, tolerate it anymore.”

The CSOs conference was organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and WAD, with financial assistance from the European Union and KAS.

It was attended by 120 delegates from various regions.

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