Staff Reporter
SWAPO parliamentarian Paula Kooper called on the Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare to strengthen the institutional framework under the ministry to provide oversight over all forms of gender-based violence (GBV).
“While gender-based violence is a crime against the state, the policy and legislative oversight should be led by the Ministry of Gender to provide a holistic approach to combating GBV beyond the legal approach. Consolidating responsibility for all forms of gender-based violence under a single mandate and ministry will result in streamlined services, improved effectiveness and enhanced accountability,” Kooper added.
She said that it is important to develop a Combating of Gender Based Violence policy framework that includes all forms of violations based on gender, regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.
Referencing the Namibian National Gender Policy (NGP) of 2010 to 2020, she noted that GBV is defined as “all acts perpetrated against women, men, girls and boys based on their sex, which causes or could cause them physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or economic harm. Gender-based violence also refers to all forms of violence that happen to women, girls, men and boys because of the unequal power relations between them”.
Based on this definition, she said, it is evident that GBV goes beyond domestic relations and is manifested in various forms beyond what is covered in the Combating of Domestic Violence Act. However, in her opinion, the policy, legal and institutional framework for combating GBV remains fragmented.
“At best (it) leads to duplication of efforts and at worst (it) could lead to confusion of mandates and thus may render all efforts made ineffective,” she said.
To support her case, Kooper highlighted the Namibian Police reported 22 174 cases of grievous bodily harm, 18 054 cases of common assault, 2 839 rape cases, 1 138 cases of attempted murder and 734 murder cases in the country between 2012 and 2016. She also added that according to the Namibian Gender-Based Violence Protection Unit, Namibia recorded 200 cases of domestic violence cases per month in 2019.
