Men should not be ashamed to apply for protection order when abused by women, as they also have the right to be protected by the law.

This was the advice of Ambassador Tonata Itenge-Emvula, special advisor to the Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Doreen Sioka, during the official opening of a five-day conference on challenges in the enforcement of protection orders and investigations of gender-based violence (GBV).

The conference, attended by about 50 members of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol), Correctional Service, traditional leaders and Chief of Lower Courts Harris Salionga, started here on Monday.

Itenge-Emvula’s statement was echoed by several speakers at the event and also received support from the participants.

“Some men suffer in silence at the hands of women as they are ashamed to report the abuse to the police because they think they will be labelled as cowards. This should not continue, the police are here to protect men as much as they do women,” she said.

She added that gender-based violence is made even worse when police officers that are supposed to enforce the law, break it by committing GBV.

Itenge-Emvula noted that alcohol and drug abuse are the main causes of GBV in Namibia.

“We were a drug transit country but now it is shocking to learn that we are a consuming nation,” she remarked.

The conference is deliberating on ways to overcome the challenges of enforcing the protection orders and investigating GBV.

It is also discussing better ways to reduce or end GBV in Namibia.
Participants noted that protection orders are not always effective as in some cases, victims are killed by the same people they applied for protection from.

Minister of Safety and Security Retired Major-General Charles Namoloh officiated at the event.

Namoloh was on a four-day familiarisation visit to prisons and police stations in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay that ended on Monday.

– Nampa