Namibia’s efforts at curbing sexual and gender based violence remain ineffective without the inclusion of LGBT persons
- Views of homosexuality as un-African has led to abuse against LGBT persons remaining unchecked, allowing the perpetrators of abuse to continue with their behaviour and leaving the victims with limited means of dealing with such relationships.
In Namibia, there is a high incidence of sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) targeting women. According to official statistics, more than 5,000 GBV and 700 cases of rape were reported in 2020 and 2021 in the country. However, people in same-sex relationships are often not included in these statistics, suggesting that it might even be higher.
These incidents, therefore, go unreported because of the stigma involved around being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). Just recently, former Mr Gay Namibia, 41-year-old Wendelinus Hamutenya, who was stabbed several times by his husband in November 2021, highlighted how LGBT persons refrain from reporting their abusers to the police for fear of backlash.
There currently exist no constitutional or legal protections for LGBT persons and, therefore, same-sex relationships are not recognized. There is also a sodomy law that criminalizes anal sex between two men, which stems from the South African colonial period (1915 – 1990). This was informed by a misogynistic (and colonial) culture that viewed sexual or romantic relations between men suspiciously. That this law still exists points to existing misogynistic attitudes that prevail even after the end of apartheid and colonialism.
This can be seen in how law enforcement agencies have treated LGBT persons. Recently, Mercedes von Cloete, a transwoman, won a pioneering court case against the Ministry of Safety and Security. In 2017, a police officer in mufti assaulted and arrested Cloete after an encounter at a KFC restaurant in central Windhoek, Namibia’s capital and largest city. The police officer beat and shamed Cloete, calling her a “fucking moffie,” an Afrikaans term used to refer to men or boys displaying effeminate behaviour.
The police officer’s attitude suggested that the assault and arrest were significantly motivated by Cloete’s status as a transgender woman. Her win however represents an exception in a country where LGBT persons are continuously ostracized for their same-sex desires. Many are still not able to find the justice that they are looking for.
While state-sanctioned abuse against LGBT persons is critical in understanding their experiences as minorities, we should be mindful of other forms of abuse that equally affect them, including SGBV. With the lack of recognition of same-sex relationships and a sodomy law, it is easy to believe that same-sex relationships are non-existent in Namibia. In fact, many Namibian politicians have previously claimed that homosexuality was un-African and that therefore it did not exist in pre-colonial Africa.
Such views have contributed to the social stigma and discrimination against LGBT persons and the promotion of a heteronormative narrative that romantic love can only be expressed through heterosexual and monogamous relationships. It has also led to other consequences, including that abuse against LGBT persons remains unchecked, allowing the perpetrators of abuse to continue with their behaviour and leaving the victims with limited means of dealing with such relationships.
Moreover, such negative views of same-sex relationships have caused many LGBT persons to refrain from openly discussing the different forms of personal abuse that they may be exposed to in their sexual or romantic relationships.
For several years, Namibia has been engaged in a protracted fight against SGBV. However, these efforts remain ineffective without including LGBT persons who are equally affected by such acts. In the recent wake of anti-SGBV and pro-LGBT rights protests, including the Namibian #BlackLivesMatter, #ShutItAllDown#OnsIsMoeg and #BringPaulaAndMayaHome protests that erupted in 2020/1 against police, sexual and gendered violence LGBT persons ensured to illuminate their own experiences of SGBV, in order that they are included in Namibia’s anti-SGBV efforts.
They have particularly called for the inclusion of LGBT persons in recent attempts by the Namibian government to tighten existing legislation, including the Domestic Violence Act 4 (2003) and Combating of Rape Act (2000) to quell the alarming rates of SGBV.
The government’s proposals at changing these laws come after the calls of #ShutItAllDown#OnsIsMoeg protesters for the Namibian government to step up its efforts at curtailing SGBV in the country. In October 2020, amid the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, the protests were held in the aftermath of the tragic murder of the 22-year-old Shannon Wasserfal whose remains were found buried in the Namib Desert at Walvis Bay on the Namibian coastline. She had been missing for several months. The main suspects in the murder were the siblings Junior Mulundu (22) and Azania Madisia (28). The latter was a friend and the ex-lover of Shannon’s former boyfriend.
Disgruntled by the events, young Namibians mobilized in several cities and towns under the social media hashtag #ShutItAllDown#OnsIsMoeg and called for an end to SGBV. In Windhoek, protests were held at key government buildings, including the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGEPESW) as well as the National Assembly, Namibia’s national parliament. The protesters called for another state of emergency (the first one was introduced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus) and the resignation of the MGEPESW minister Doreen Sioka.
In August 2021, I joined a group of prominent LGBT figures, supporters of LGBT rights and partygoers at Café Prestige, a nightclub popular for its extravagant drag performances in downtown Windhoek. We were there for the launch of the book The Chronicles of a Non-Binary Black Lesbian Namibian….In Love by the writer and LGBT activist Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe.
In her autobiography, Nthengwe, who identifies as lesbian, narrates both her experiences as a child when her gender non-conforming preferences were frowned upon and as an adult when she navigated her insecurities over her sexuality and personal abuse she went through in some of her romantic relationships. That night, as we soaked up the cool Spring breeze, Ndiilokelwa spoke about her feelings of self-doubt around abuse, which gave leeway to her partner to deny their abusive behaviour. Ndiilokelwa attributed this to a heteronormative culture that leaves LGBT persons in a state of self-doubt, keeping them in abusive relationships.
To change this situation, Ndiilokelwa argues in her book that “progressive legislation” is necessary. She has a point. By providing LGBT persons with the same equal rights as heterosexual persons, victims of abuse in same-sex relationships can start speaking out against their abusers. This can go a long way in strengthening our fight against SGBV.
Indeed a more encompassing approach is required against SGBV that recognizes its effects on women, LGBT persons and others who may equally feel neglected by Namibia’s anti-SGBV laws. There is however little chance of this happening when colonial laws like the sodomy law still exist.
In this regard, the recent challenge against the sodomy law by long-time LGBT activist Friedel Dausab (48) in the High Court of Namibia is significant in ensuring that LGBT persons may finally receive more constitutional and legal protections, especially against SGBV. At the root of this, of course, is a deep-seated colonial view on sexuality and gender, which seeks to only foster hate against LGBT persons. That needs to change. Changing colonial laws can, perhaps, support such efforts.
