MASERU- IN a bid to find the causes and address the issue of Gender Based Violence (GBV), Lesotho Mounted Police Service through its police post in Qoaling, will be hosting a men’s conference on Sunday, 24 October, 2021.
Sen Ins. ‘Mats’epang Rankone
Topics to be addressed also include domestic violence, femicide, Fatherlessness and identity, challenges and roles of fathers raising girl children, children’s rights, stress and depression associated with unemployment, the importance of community policing and crime in general.
According to the station commander, Senior Inspector ’Matšepang Rankone, this forum coincidentally takes place at a time when the police post also marks a year of existence in the Qoaling area, a place with a very high rate of crime and ty have chosen to address GBV as a pandemic within the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said the UN report on GBV shows that at least 243 million women globally have experienced violence at the hands of their intimate partners, while in Lesotho one out of three women experience the same.
Sen. Ins Rankone said in August alone, a month which is supposed to commemorate women, an estimated 10 women were killed by their partners, and this goes to say that Lesotho is no exception when it comes to the crime of femicide.
“According to our records since this post came into existence last year, we have learnt that GBV tops the list of crimes committed in this area and unfortunately men are also victims but don’t report their experiences. It is against this background that we have decided to have this forum, to try and make men part of our conversation.
Other crimes reported in high numbers in Qoaling are House breaking, Theft Common and Sexual Offences.
“There is some hidden secret amongst boys and men when it comes to GBV and it is time we tried to break this wall and address the root cause of this issue. GBV has always been there and unfortunately it has now become a norm because it has gone unaddressed all this time,” said Sen. Ins. Rankone.
“While we are aware that we are not going to completely eradicate this problem, at least we are hopeful that we will make a change by empowering and engaging men. We would like to believe that this is one step in the right direction and the beginning of the end of violence and the high rate of crime in this area,” concluded Sen. Ins. Rankone.
