EMOTIONS ran high as hundreds of Keetmanshoop residents took part in a youth-led protest against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) at the town on Friday.
The protest formed part of the countrywide #ShutItAllDown movement.
Some protesters broke out in tears when a moment of silence was observed to remember victims of femicide after the group assembled at the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court to hand over a petition following a march.
Suzette Dausas, the distraught mother of a girl (4) whose naked body was discovered under a tree by a passer-by in 2010 after she had gone missing from the family home, said she is still traumatised by her daughter’s brutal death.
“My child’s death is still painful and hard to accept,” she said on Friday, appealing to parents to keep their children safe.
“Men, leave our children alone,” she begged.
The protesters, who handed over the petition to principal prosecutor Lewis Chigunwe, said they assembled with a deep sense of outrage over SGBV in the country.
“Men are the main perpetrators of all forms of violence in Namibia, but many men do not think of GBV as an issue they are responsible for, nor as an issue they have a responsibility to end,” the petition reads.
The protesters demanded that president Hage Geingob address the nation and declare that another pandemic is raging in the country killing women.
“GBV is a present and consistent threat to women, yet our media, communities and government responses do not consistently reflect this reality,” they charged.
The demonstrators said more efforts are needed to fight the crisis, adding that 3 164 rape cases were reported between 2016 and 2018.
They proposed that members of the police dealing with SGBV cases receive more advanced training, while calling for the immediate identification of crime hotspots as well as armed patrols guarding all neighbourhoods 24/7.
They also demanded the construction of a satellite police station at Tseiblaagte, and that response teams are specifically trained to deal with SGBV and are available around the clock.
The group also called for a review of legislation that allows for more and effective responses to SGBV, the speedy and successful prosecution of sex offenders, harsh action against repeat offenders, the fast approval of legal aid applications, safe houses for SGBV victims, and that SGBV cases are prioritised.
The protesters took a swipe at the gender equality, poverty eradication and social welfare minister Doreen Sioka, accusing her of having failed to implement measures to curb SGBV.
They demanded her immediate removal as minister.
Chigunwe received the petition, saying the prosecutor general was considering all public input to tackle SGBV, and that work was in progress to formulate a policy for the police to address the crisis.
The demonstration, which was joined by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani, concluded with a tree-planting ceremony in honour of women and children who died through SGBV.
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