By Reverend Fritz Gaweseb
THE Association of Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches of Namibia (ACPCN) must acknowledge that churches have not been very prominent in speaking out against violence against women and children and that it seemed still remaining primarily as a women’s struggle but we want to assure our women that we will intensify our efforts and actions to reduce the prevalence of GBV in our country as a whole. The church recently resolved various strategies and programmes to contribute constructively towards the promotion of gender justice in our different communities.
Our country and the world we live in are characterized by violence against women and children on a daily basis. GBV is the fate of millions of women and children all over the world and these are affecting their health, means of survival and productivity. GBV is a global reality which exists in all societies regardless of income, class, status or culture. Violence against our women, mostly includes rape, grievous bodily harm (beatings), passion killing, sexual assault, murder and baby dumping, just to mention a few.
GBV is a serious crime against humanity and cannot be tolerated or accommodated and it’s against this background that the church developed frameworks, programmes and consulted relevant partners and stakeholders in order to address the issue of GBV, women’s human and basic rights as well as their freedom with all relevant shareholders, such as the State, NGOs, CBOs, donor agencies, etc.
The ACPCN will also launch its Gender Policy and conduct gender sensitization and awareness workshops in different regions.
We want to inform the public and the society at large that it’s not all men that are cruel or violent. There are also good men that are in the majority and it’s these men that we want to mobilize and motivate to influence the other brothers and men positively. We also want to inform the communities that there is hope for change and positive transformation of men’s lifestyle and behaviour. The Church will also offer constructive counseling for men on conflict and stress management.
Women and girls are also urged to report violent actions of men and if the person doesn’t stop or change after three attempts then she must leave or move out of such a violent relationship. Church leaders and pastors are also requested to support, assist and advise couples or people that are involved in such relationships before it is too late because prevention is better than cure.
The community at large are also requested not to hesitate to consult church leaders when they or their family members experience violence in their relationships, because every life is sacred and very precious in the eyes of the Lord.
We further urge the Christian community and the church leadership to be true and real role models, to fear the Lord, live holy lives by applying and upholding the divine laws, Commandments and Scriptures of the Lord. They are also urged to:
• Be moral sound, serious and practical in the daily exercising of their Christian faith.
• Use the Bible as a basis in their entire human endeavour because it is a useful resource toolkit.
• Carry out their divine obligation and calling through the active and effective spreading of the Gospel of salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ into all corners of our beloved country.
• Fulfill their rightful position in the socio-economic development of our country through assisting and supporting the government in all spheres of society.
Let us therefore unite, stand together in order to uproot and remove this ugly and cruel enemy called gender-based violence amongst the peaceful members of the Namibian society.
• Reverend Fritz Gaweseb is the president of the Association of Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches of Namibia.