Namibia: Shut It All Down!

We Will Not Be Silenced!

The youth of Namibia have pledged to keep protesting until immediate action is taken to address femicide, rape and sexual abuse in the country.

Earlier this year, the Namibian Police Force reported that during the 18 months ended June 2020, one thousand six hundred and four rapes cases were reported. Translated, these statistics point the horrifying image that for 540 days between January 2019 and June 2020, three rape cases were reported to the Police every day.

In 2019 September, the Gender-based Violence Protection Unit in Windhoek reported that between September 2019 and December 2018, it received, on average, 200 cases of domestic violence per month.

Again, translated, these statistics paint the horrifying image that for 300 days, the Gender-based Violence Protection Unit in Windhoek received about sixty six domestic violence cases every day!

There is, therefore, no denying: Namibia faces a sexual and gendered violence crisis. There is also no denying the amount of collective trauma carried by, especially, women who live in Namibia, and the fear that such trauma invites. It is evident that from the popular hashtags such as “#AmINext” and others, protests such as the one held earlier this year, as well as constant conversations on especially, social media, in which Namibian women express their fear and concern.

Painfully, however, these concerns and the crisis of SGBV seem to not receive the attention that they deserve: there is an apparent lax attitude displayed by the Namibian law enforcement and central government in creating safer communities for women and children.

We will therefore join them in demanding for immediate political action and amplify their voices using the hashtags #ShutItAllDown and #ShutItAllDownNamibia. 

Join us in the conversation. Let us put an END to the violation of WOMEN RIGHTS!!