Workshops spread word on gender violence

WOMEN and other victims of gender-based violence have become more aware of their rights and know where to report such crimes.

This is one of the findings of a series of workshops on gender-based violence conducted by Women’s Action for Development (WAD) countrywide since last year.
WAD with the financial support of the Spanish government launched the workshops in partnership with the University of Namibia, Nampol and the Office of the Ombudsman to inform Namibians of the causes and consequences of gender-based violence.
On Wednesday, the results of the workshops were announced at the Kalahari Sands Hotel in Windhoek.
‘It was indeed a joyful experience to observe how popular the workshops were when they kicked off, and how well the workshops are now being attended by people from all walks of life,’ Veronica De Klerk, Executive Director of WAD, said at the occasion.
Although low literacy levels hampered the effective communication of participants, the workshops managed to identify alcohol and drug abuse, violence in the parental home, low education level of perpetrators and harmful cultural practices as the main contributors to gender-based violence.
‘With all comments and proposals that we receive on the workshop evaluation forms, we safely conclude that the public is eager to lean more about the findings of the research study and be more informed about the consequences of gender-based violence in the country,’ De Klerk said.
Ombudsman John Walters, who also spoke at the event, said the real work in combating the evil lies in the effective implementation of policies addressing the issue.