The Namibian Police Force has several “units” or divisions.  The one that specifically works with cases of domestic violence or abuse is the Women and Child Protection Unit (WCPU).  There are WCPU offices in various cities and towns all over the country, and it is here that people can report abuse, receive counseling or medical examinations, and even receive temporary shelter if needed.  There is some debate about how welcoming or well-equipped some of these WCPUs are, and I hope to visit one soon to get a better picture of what happens there.

In the meantime, I spoke with a police detective who worked in a WCPU for 11 years (she asked me not to use her name in this blog).   When I asked her about domestic violence cases involving guns, she told me the story of a woman whose abuser used to clean his gun in front of her, or sleep with his gun under his pillow, when he wanted to intimidate her.

I asked her how it was for her personally, to do this work for so long.  She immediately responded that it was “emotionally draining” and that it had had a “huge impact” on her and her marriage.  In the year or so since she left that position and started doing general detective duties, she said, her husband has noticed big changes in her; specifically, he said that she has been much more relaxed since leaving the WCPU.  This despite the fact that she voluntarily participated in group therapy with the other staff of the WCPU while she was there.

This last part of the conversation was of particular interest to me as I have been thinking about the impact of the work I am doing here on my own mental and emotional well-being.  There is no doubt that reading page after page of horrific stories of rape, assault, and murder is disturbing, and hearing the stories directly even more so.  However, it does sometimes feel a little overly indulgent, even selfish, to worry about myself when I am not suffering directly.  The women I am reading about and meeting are the ones who are really going through difficult times.  Recently though, I have been receiving some reminders that I should take care of myself, and not just from this police detective.  Yesterday I met a woman who is doing her Ph.D. research on domestic violence here, and she warned me that I must make sure I have support, and that I should take time to relax and enjoy life.  “Believe me,” she said, “I know.”  Both of these conversations serve as a reminder that violence is far-reaching, and affects not only the victims, but also their caretakers and advocates.

Don’t worry, friends and family, I am taking care of myself!  I have the weekend to take a time out.  I just wish it was possible for the victims of these crimes to have the same opportunity.

Yesterday I met Hans Pieters, a relative of my host here, Talita.  We started talking about my work here and he told me that one of the reasons there are as many guns as there are in Namibia is the war for independence that was fought with South Africa.  Many ex-combatants continue to carry guns, and Hans told me that he himself carried a gun for years after the war was over, for purposes of self-protection.  It was only when he realized that the people who were most likely to get shot with this gun were his friends and family, and not criminals, that he got rid of the gun.  In this brief video he tells his story:

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Every year in June, IANSA sponsors a Global Week of Action that highlights the negative consequences of gun violence around the world.  This year, one part of the Global Week of Action is Disarming Domestic Violence, a campaign to raise awareness about the link between guns and domestic abuse (I talked about this link in an earlier blog post).  Organizations in 28 countries are participating in spreading this message, and I am honored to be part of Namibia’s campaign.  You can read about how Advocacy Project Fellows are contributing to the campaign worldwide here.

The other week, the NANGOF Trust (the umbrella organization that represents Namibian NGOs, including the one I work for, Breaking the Wall of Silence) held a campaign launch event.  It was a panel discussion at a big hotel in downtown Windhoek, and we had four distinguished speakers, including two Members of Parliament and two representatives of civil society organizations.  All the speakers discussed the need for women to feel safe in their own homes.   Rosa Namises of the NGO Women’s Solidarity Namibia gave a particularly moving speech about women’s rights in Namibia and their continuing vulnerability to violence.

Pauline and the parliamentarians talked about how the firearms law here could be amended to improve safety – for example, by instituting a competency test that all gun owners would be required to take and renew.  One important part of any legal changes would be harmonizing the firearms legislation with the domestic violence legislation that they have here.  Harmonization simply means that the gun law prohibits ownership by domestic violence offenders, and the domestic violence law requires the removal of guns.  So far, harmonization has only been accomplished in four countries: Canada, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago, and our next-door neighbor, South Africa.  We’d like it to happen here in Namibia too.  It was great to see the two parliamentarians supporting these potential changes to the law.  Pauline hopes that debates in the relevant government ministries to institute the amendments could begin later this year.  It could definitely be an uphill battle though, as the gun dealer lobby and some in the hunting and farming communities are wary of any changes to firearm legislation.

Member of Parliament McHenry Venaani officially launches the campaign while MP Kaveri Kavari and Pauline Dempers listen.

Member of Parliament McHenry Venaani officially launches the campaign while MP Kaveri Kavari and Pauline Dempers listen.

Connected to the launch, Pauline and I were invited that same day to be interviewed on the national TV network, NBC TV.  We got up bright and early to be on Good Morning Namibia, the daily show that starts at 6 AM.  The anchor interviewed us for about 10 minutes live, and we talked about the problem, the legal side, and announced the launch event later that day.  It was a great opportunity to get the word out, and my first appearance on live TV!

We’ve also been working on getting the message out to the Windhoek community more generally through the Gun-Free Namibia campaign.  We visited two schools last week and talked to their staff to encourage their schools to become Gun-Free Zones.  Goreangab School in Katutura took on the challenge, so we’ll be returning soon to talk to the students and have an official ceremony.

It feels like the NANGOF Trust has a lot of momentum going with the campaign to end gun violence here in Namibia, and it’s very exciting for me to be here for it.  More updates soon.

A news story in the most popular national newspaper here, The Namibian, really hit home for me this week.  A woman and her mother were both shot and killed by the woman’s boyfriend in a small town in the northeast of the country.  The article indicates that there had been a long history of domestic abuse in the relationship.  It’s the kind of sad story that is plastered all over the news in the US more often than any of us would like.  It also illustrates in the most horrifying way the link between guns and domestic violence that IANSA is working to raise awareness about this year with their Disarming Domestic Violence campaign, and the reason I’m here.

Recently, Pauline and I were talking about the campaign with a man we had just met.  He argued that the problem is not guns, but domestic violence itself, and he said that the most effective way to deal with the problem would be teaching people about effective conflict resolution.  I agree with him that it is not only guns that are the problem, and that the roots of the problem lie deeper than the weapon that is used in a domestic violence situation.  However, as IANSA has noted, guns make domestic violence more deadly.  A gun increases the risk of death by 12 times, compared with other means of violence.  In Namibia, the majority of victims of gun crimes (assault, murder, and muggings) between 2003 and 2006 were women.  It is clear to me that something needs to be done to keep women safe, and that removing guns from the hands of abusers and other criminals would be an effective first step.

Pauline Dempers and Felix Muchila on his NBC Radio show, "The Ninth Hour"

Pauline Dempers and Felix Muchila on his NBC Radio show, "The Ninth Hour"

I had just met my new boss, Pauline Dempers, the national coordinator of Namibian NGO Breaking the Wall of Silence, at one of the central taxi stands (or ranks, as they’re called here) in Windhoek.  It was my first day in Namibia, and I had come directly from the airport – Pauline was picking me up downtown to take me to Talita’s house, where I would be staying for the next three months.  We sat and talked for a moment as we waited for Talita to drop off the keys: mostly small talk and getting-to-know-you chat.  Then she surprised me:

“I’d like you to come with me to the national radio station tomorrow.  We’re being interviewed on the IANSA campaign.”

And so the next day at 9 AM I found myself walking up to the NBC (here, it stands for Namibian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio building to begin the first task of my internship.  Inside, I met Pauline and Felix Muchila, host of English-language radio show “The Ninth Hour.”  NBC has radio shows in English, German, and Afrikaans, as well as several different indigenous languages, and it is broadcast throughout the entire country.  Felix informed us that we would be talking for about 45 minutes and would take calls from listeners as well.  This is where I started to get nervous: 45 minutes?  On my first day?  I hoped I had all the answers to the questions that would be asked of me.

I shouldn’t have been too worried.  Pauline took the lead, discussing the national Gun Free Namibia campaign that her organization has spearheaded as well as the link between guns and domestic violence that is the focus of the Disarming Domestic Campaign that we are launching here in Windhoek as a partner in IANSA’s Global Week of Action against Gun Violence.  Felix asked me how gun violence compared between the US and Namibia, and also what was being done to combat gun violence in the States.  I was not able to compare the level of violence in the two countries, especially as I did not have access yet to Namibian statistics.  But I did highlight that there are several organizations working on this issue in the US, and that IANSA is partnering with many of them.  We had one caller at the end of the show who commented on the difficulty of reducing gun violence, and the importance of ensuring that guns are stored safely.

Perhaps the best part of the whole experience was that since then, I have encountered two people that heard Pauline and me on the radio.  One of them is a freelance reporter, and we had an interesting discussion about gun violence in Windhoek.  It’s exciting to know that the campaign is already visible and sparking discussion.