Church blames alcohol for gender violence
The restrictions around the sale of alcohol, which were imposed during the Covid-19 state of emergency, should be adopted in order to fight sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the country, the Coalition of Churches and Organisations on Ethical Social Justice said yesterday.
The coalition is calling for an immediate review on the accessibility of alcohol and adoption of Covid-19 lockdown regulations as they yielded positive results.
“We have to deal with the issue of the sale of alcohol in Namibia. We cannot pretend and hide from this matter, by trying to find a scapegoat to address sexual, domestic and gender-based violence,” the coalition said in a statement.
They recommended that the country should consider and capitalise on government policies that yielded positive results during the restriction time under the state of emergency when statistics indicated a significant reduction in crime.
The church is of the opinion that the removal of biblical studies from the education system has significantly contributed to the moral decay within the public and as such, the country is faced with many forms of social evils, including violence and in particular sexual, domestic, and gender-based violence.
Although acknowledging Namibia as a circular state, the church demands the return of biblical studies in the education system.
The church has pledged to intensify the fight for morality, justice and upholding biblical values by reinforcing strategic prayers for the nation, preaching the Word of God, increasing visibility of the church in communities, enforcing and mainstreaming biblical values and principles in all sectors of the country, and providing spiritual counsel to the nation.
“The church does not condone any violent acts against any person neither against peaceful protesters.
Equally so, we do not endorse unlawful attacks against law enforcement agencies and government authorities. Furthermore, the church strongly condemns the request to #ShutItAllDown,” the statement reads in reference to anti-femicide protesters who recently marched for justice against SGBV.
The church further condemned the demand for the sensitisation of the public on gender transformation and for the repeal of the sodomy law, citing that gender transformation is not the value of the majority of the Namibian nation.
In addition, the church also condemned the call to legalise abortion.
“Those who are calling for strong action against the killing of girls and women, must therefore not play doublestandards as some of those proponents are namely those calling for the legalisation of abortion in Namibia. The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia protects the right to life, for all born and unborn.”