Society needs to tackle gender-based violence urgently, writes Mwanamwalye Kabombo
Mwanamwalye Kabombo urges men and women to take a stand and educate people on the harm it does.
Mwanamwalye Kabombo, a learner from Northcliff High School writes a heartfelt essay on what society can do to tackle the scourge of gender-based violence.
I have learnt a lot about Gender Based Violence (GBV). I learnt that it happens a lot more than I thought and that there are many ways I can help reduce this problem.
This is an issue in our society because our country has one of the highest cases of GBV. Anyone, women, children and men are all victims of this, and the cases will continue to increase if we don’t act now.
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This is an issue because it affects the lives of many people, including all the victims. It can lead to anxiety, depression, PTSD and fear in many people.
It’s also an issue as this is tolerated by many people. When people do see a woman getting harassed, a teacher behaving inappropriately towards a student or a man being falsely accused of a crime and having to face the consequences on his own, people turn a blind eye.
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They ignore it and don’t try to help. As youth, we can take action by spreading awareness in our schools and areas. Creating posters, handing out pamphlets, wearing ribbons or having silent protests. These are all ways we can take action.
We can also do so by not excusing the behaviour of our friends and peers. If we stopped our friends and peers when they harass, hit or verbally torment people, it will reduce the amount of ignorance we have as a group.
We can have a support group for victims of GBV where they can feel empowered and not be afraid to speak out.
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We can help where we can if we see someone that is targeted. We can stand together to help them and not watch.
GBV is a huge problem that will need everyone’s efforts to destroy.
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