Windhoek
To curb instances of gender-based violence and baby dumping, paternity tests should be availed at no cost at all State health facilities, according the organisation, Women’s Action for Development (WAD).
“We know it’s a costly exercise, but it will be worth it if we are serious about addressing gender-based violence,” said WAD’s executive director, Salatiel Shinedima, in an interview with New Era.
WAD’s executive director also called for paternity tests to be made part of the birth registration of the child baby. “It will help curb violence and baby dumping. It’s a costly exercise, but it can be done if we want to see a reduction in gender-based violence and baby dumping,” Shinedima said.
Last year Justice Minister Albert Kawana released statistics on women who gave their children to men, who are not their biological fathers. Kawana said at the time that 182 men nationwide disputed fatherhood between April 1 and August 30 last year.
Out of 182 cases, which were disputed, 70 DNA tests showed that the men were not the biological fathers, while 103 test results showed they are the biological fathers of the children, he added.
Windhoek topped the list of the most paternity tests with 78 cases, followed by Katima Mulilo with 13, Gobabis with 11, while Eenhana and Walvis Bay had 10 cases each.
Kawana said a worrisome trend has developed where men who earn high salaries are targeted by women and are given responsibility for children who are not theirs. Only after paying maintenance for a number of years, the man is informed that it is not his child.
Shinedima told New Era this week the statistics availed by the minister last year indicates a national problem.
“Where you have women giving children to men who are not necessarily their biological fathers, that just shows the extent of the problem. How about the fathers who did not go for paternity tests because they cannot afford it or they are mal-informed about it?” Shinedima asked.
“There are many fathers taking care of children who are not their own. This is one of the reasons some men deny pregnancies,” he observed. He also noted there are men who deny having impregnated some women, because they do not want to take responsibility.
Deceiving a man that a child is his – while it is not – creates many problems, such as identity crisis, because when the child grows up and finds out the man who raised him is not his biological father he would feel like he does not belong anywhere, Shinedima explained.
“Mothers have developed tendencies of giving children to other men,” he stressed. Some of the reasons why women deceive men to believe they are the biological fathers of their children when they are not, include finances.
“But you also find women who are angry with the biological father,” he noted. “What happens when a man finds out that the child is not theirs? They feel disrespected. These issues can lead to gender-based violence and murder,” he said, arguing that paternity tests should be readily available at no cost.
“It’s easy for men to deny it (paternity), but if there is a paternity test available at no cost it will be difficult for a man to deny that he is the father. This could curb unnecessary abortions and baby dumping,” Shinedima opined.