Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Justice spokesperson Lukas Haufiku says the ministry applauds men who stand up against gender-based violence.
He spoke to Desert FM on Wednesday as the world observes 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV) from 25 November to 10 December.
"We are not saying that men are not suffering violence, they are. We are applauding the men that are really just now starting to come out and speak about the violence they endure at the hands of their partners," Haufiku said.
According to Haufiku, the ministry also takes cognisance of the fact that the outreach needs to reach men, especially boys.
He urged men to speak out, even though the call is mainly towards women and children as the most vulnerable ones.
He said if the government is to make the country a zero-tolerant nation for GBV, they need to address deep-rooted issues which could include traditional beliefs, customs or stereotypes.
"If they (men) came up in an environment where they have witnessed violence, they are likely to continue that cycle," Haufiku said.
He said increased awareness among men, boys and women on human rights in general is important because the ministry has witnessed cases where a violent act will occur and the woman will say that if the man doesn't beat her, he doesn't love her.
According toHaufiku, the ministry carried out a study on child marriage and found that in some societies, a woman would say she was married off as a child but views it as a cultural norm.
"With such cultural beliefs, it becomes quite difficult to say 'let's break this stereotype'. So it won't be overnight. It's something really that would take time, especially when it relates to culture," he said.
Desert FM recently spoke to 100 Million Namibia Fair Share campaign project coordinator Evelyn Namupala, who said the Omaheke region has been identified as the region with the highest recorded child marriages, making up at least 23%.
According to the study carried out by the ministry of gender and the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA), the Otjozondjupa region makes up 22%, Oshana 7% and the Zambezi region 4%.
"These are all young girls between the ages of 12 and 17," Namupala said.
The 16 Days of Activism is an opportunity to revitalise commitments, and call for accountability and action from decision-makers as the world approaches the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025 - a blueprint for achieving gender equality and women's and girls' rights everywhere.
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Taking place under the theme 'Unite to End Violence Against Women', this year's focus, according to the UN Women's Organisation, is to "host events with local, national, regional and global women's movements, survivor advocates and woman human rights defenders and create opportunities for dialogue between activists, policymakers and the public".
According to Haufiku, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action call for an end towards violence.
"The ministry has various clusters it has set out, from national level to regional level to communities that we are in dialogue with " he said.
