Domestic violence cases increase in //Kharas

KEETMANSHOOP, 07 OCT  – Cases of domestic violence in the //Kharas Region have increased, the Namibian Police Force’s Jochobetha Angukku, a Detective Chief Inspector in the gender-based violence (GBV) protection unit at Keetmanshoop has said.
Angukku said 229 cases were reported from January 2017 until September the same year, while 249 cases were reported from January until September 2018.
She was speaking at a GBV awareness event organised by the Soli Deo Gloria choir of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia here on Saturday.
Angukku also said 116 cases were withdrawn in 2017 compared to only 54 in 2018.
Forty rape cases were reported in 2017 and 42 in 2018, with two cases having been withdrawn in each of the two years.
She expressed great concern over the withdrawal of rape and domestic violence cases.
“It is obvious that these perpetrators are our sons, daughters, husbands, wives or even neighbours but [in] the denial of our problem, we end up repeating and going through the cycle of violence over and over again,” she said.
She added that alcohol and drug abuse are the primary contributing factors to GBV, complemented by a lack of knowledge on national laws.
Angukku encouraged the community to report rape cases within 72 hours after the incident happens as many victims report cases very late, sometimes even up to five months after the incident has taken place and this makes it very difficult to investigate as no evidence is present.
(NAMPA