Of the 125 domestic violence cases reported to the community policing division of the Khomas region between September and October, 80% involved children.
The startling statistics were shared by Chief Inspector George Shitana during the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence at the Mix informal settlement last week.
The 16 Days of Activism started on 25 November and will run until 10 December 2021 under the global theme set by the UN Secretary General’s Unite campaign: Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!
Shitana added gender-based violence is worrisome in society, particularly in the Khomas region, with 52 rape cases also reported under the period under review.
“We have experienced a lot of abuses against children, of which some men have the wrong perceptions – and when they look at the body of these children, they think they are seeing adults, and decide to embark on love affairs with them,” stated Shitana.
He said, to some extent, parents also sit idle in the back, knowing well their children are in relationships with people way older than them.
“If you fall in love and happen to be in relations with someone younger than the age 18 years old, we will come for you. It is straightforward rape,” warned Shitana.
“What causes these types of violations is alcohol abuse; most violence emanate from alcohol and drug abuse. Parents are misusing alcohol – and as a result, they will not take care of their children. In some cases, the parents are the ones handing their children over to men.”
Community leader Rachel Shiwana said parents should always try their best to listen to their children.
“Let’s listen to children because they are always being violated but they are afraid of informing their parents because parents conclude that children tend to lie a lot,” she encouraged.
Shiwana pointed out that this type of torment affects children in many ways, and called on the various communities to come together and have sessions of positive parenting.
“The suffering is affecting children, and we should try and talk to our children and allow them to report on issues they may be uncomfortable with. They must always be free to talk to us when issues of discomfort are experienced by them. As parents, we shouldn’t always brush off accusations, and parents do that because they think the child is lying,” highlighted Shiwana.
Lifeline Childline Namibia’s gender programme manager Elize Prins said the organisation is working tirelessly around the clock to engage members of Mix to root out GBV.
“We are not going to tolerate violence in our communities. Men should take responsibility. And that’s why we have the Men Engage Namibia where we exclusively work with men and boys. We want to give information and skills,” she implored.
“We cannot continue reading in newspapers that a 15-year-old girl was raped and murdered. We do realise that we, as mothers, have raised our boys to not show emotions – not to cry and expect them to be strong at all times, but they have feelings.”