Men urged to speak out against domestic abuse

Although males are the most frequent offenders of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), they, too, endure violence from their partners and are reluctant to speak up for fear of being judged by the community.

This was said by the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Social Development, and Family Affairs, Gothardt Kasuto, during a public hearing on the petition for Sexual and GBV and Femicide at Opuwo on Friday.

Kasuto said men must break the silence on domestic abuse and become active in altering societal views. Some of these abuses might not involve violence, but bad words, public embarrassment, shaming and so forth which could be contributing factors that drive men to suicide.

“While the majority of abuse conditions against men do not entail violence, men are frequently subjected to abusive and aggressive tones and embarrassments from their spouses, which often leads to depression and suicide,” he said.

Kasuto was reacting to comments from the men in attendance who revealed to the committee that, they, too, experience violence from their spouses but do not know how or where to get help for fear of what others may think.

Kunene regional youth chairperson, Tuuakoveni Kenaumue while sharing his opinions, called for the preservation of culture to be used as a weapon to combat GBV, as well as the cessation of detrimental cultural practices, which he believes contribute to GBV.

Speaking at the same occasion, Kunene Namibian Police Force chief of community policing, Vehangaiza Ruiter emphasized that abuse can occur in many forms, including financial, physical, rape, emotional, and discriminatory, and that those who abuse others in some of these forms may be unaware that their actions are a form of abuse while also hurting their unsuspecting victims.

The nationwide hearings were prompted by a petition launched by the #ShutItAllDown Movement#, which called for an end to sexual and GBV and femicide in Namibia.

The committee is chaired by Kasuto, and other members include Jennifer Van den Heever and Johana Kandjimi.

(NAMPA)
UK/EK

(NAMPA)