A Grade 6 female learner was allegedly raped and later fell pregnant in the Oshikoto Region.
The police report states that the incident occurred between April and July of this year.
The suspect in this matter is a 37-year-old man; the unspeakable act, according to the police, happened over a period of time on many occasions at the victim’s parents house.
In another case, the victim is fourteen, and the suspect is her cousin.
At Rehoboth, a mother of a 15-year-old has opened a case of rape.
Her daughter became pregnant, after she was allegedly raped by her stepfather in a riverbed.
Before this gruesome act, it is reported that he allegedly bought the minor alcoholic beverages.
The two rape cases are but the tip of the iceberg among many such cases reported to the police on a weekly basis.
Other GBV crimes include the killing of women, assault, and most recently, a man who burned down the shack of his girlfriend.
The Namibian Courts are inundated with matters of murder, rape, and other social ills perpetrated against the vulnerable in society.
Harsh punishments are dished out to those found guilty, but this seems not to deter the growing number of statistics.
In October 2020, hundreds of furious demonstrators, mainly youth, took to the streets of Windhoek in protest against gender-based violence and femicide.
Their action was triggered, by a series of gruesome assaults on women and girls.
Those who formed part of the protest cried over toxic masculinity, terming it a thorn in the social fabric of Namibian society.
The group approached Parliament with a petition, demanding changes to existing laws and enhancing the protection of women and children.
That petition has been with Parliament for almost four years.
Joyce Nakuta, Director of Committee Services at the National Assembly, says that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Social Development, and Family Affairs is inundated with a myriad of petitions.
Nakuta informed nbc News that the Committee will soon hold public consultations on the petition that was received in October 2020.
The Namibian Parliament also received a myriad of petitions.
In January this year, Secretary to the National Assembly, Lydia Kandetu, informed the nbc that the legislature had received about nine petitions, saying that the petitions were subjected to parliamentary processes.
“Two weeks ago, two Private Persons Bills were brought by Swapo backbencher Jerry Ekandjo, which sailed through both Houses of Parliament.
Ekandjo’s bill saw amendments to existing acts, and it was received with applause by the majority of lawmakers, including some members of the opposition. The expedited pace at which lawmakers acted to amend the recognition of same-sex unions concluded outside the country, as well as the financial bills that went through both houses with lightning speed, have been questioned by the public and some lawmakers.”
These laws were passed with urgency, while a petition calling for a safe environment for women and children that was delivered to Parliament over three years ago does not show any progress.
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