This Week In The Khuta – A sex strike will not help solve rape!
Recently there have been reports of Namibia experiencing a high number of rape cases including so called passion killings. A local daily reported that crime in the country is increasing with rape topping the list. We have also experienced unabated gender-based violence and in response the SWAPO Party Women’s Council has called on women irrespective of marital status to abstain from sex for at least three months.
The call was made during a recent meeting of the council which participants declared war to end gender based violence. They feel that men have turned into monsters instead of taking up the role of being protectors. So the council decided that the only way to end this was to abstain from sexual intercourse as a form of rebellion towards their male counterparts. The council feels that men do not respect women’s wishes when it comes to sex, adding that “no” should mean “no” if a woman refuses to have sex even if its her partner in a relationship. As the Deputy Secretary General of the party boldly puts it: “Maybe now we (women) have to demonstrate and sleep on our stomachs for men to see that we are fed up of this continuation of gender-based violence and passion killings every day.”
In true Namibian style, social networks were abuzz as people took to social networking sites to air their comments and views on whether abstaining from sex will solve the problem at hand. One viewer felt that three months abstinence, also commonly known as the 90 day rule, will only result in more killings of women as men will think that their partners are cheating on them rather than abstaining for a cause. She believes that sex is not the main reason women are being killed but rather the promiscuous behaviour some women tend to follow.
Another believes the rate of killings will undoubted increase and this is because sex and killing have nothing in common. The commentator explains that the two words are total opposites and do not belong in one basket. Another is adamant that relationships will surely be ruined in the process at the expense of some women who will try to fool others that they are abstaining whilst doing the exact opposite. The commentator is of the opinion that such a campaign will fail even before it sets off as too many factors are involved.
In response to women sleeping face down, one commentator blatantly says that the position of his partner will not deter him from sleeping with her and goes on to say that he will simply change partner and move on to another who isn’t on the abstinence campaign.
It is no secret that gender based violence is spiraling out of control especially with the recent cases of so called passion killings that have now become a norm in the police crime bulletin but surely this is not the Namibia we all want to live in? I understand where the motion of abstinence is coming from but surely that alone will not be the solution to the problems the country is facing. I tend to agree with what the one viewer said about sex being freely available because we all know you can’t fight fire with fire and even though it is for a good cause, avoiding sex will not stop a rapist from raping a woman who is on a sex break. People should also understand that no one asks to be raped, whether you are a virgin, married or living a promiscuous life, a woman is always a target for rape so the problem does not lie with the victim but with the perpetrator. Intervention from government and the public at large is needed to root out all evil in our midst and it starts with our younger generation. Advice to all parents, teach your children values and morals while young and maybe, just maybe, they will grow to become responsible people who live a crime free life.
So whether the sex strike will hold water or not, I am yet to see if any woman is brave enough to abstain for what they believe is for a good cause. Abstinence or not, gender based violence however needs to be urgently addressed by all!
