Kaleen Chikowore
THE National Assembly last week approved the Counter Domestic Violence Bill 2021, to try and end the scourge of gender violence, but analysts say it is not yet time for celebrations.
The approval means that the country is a step closer to enacting the much-anticipated law to address rampant domestic violence crimes in the country.
The bill has been pending since it was tabled in April 2021 by Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation Minister, Likeleli Tampane. It is meant to provide for the protection of the rights of victims and prevention of domestic violence and other related matters.
But analysts say it is not yet uhuru. There are more measures that must be taken to curb brutality against women.
The analysts say the law alone, even when it is finally enacted, will not be an adequate deterrent. In fact, Lesotho has several good laws that are not being enforced and if the systematic deficiencies in policing and the judiciary are not resolved, then the country will continue recording high cases of domestic violence.
There were jubilant scenes when Ms Tampane tabled the bill in parliament last year. At the time, the minister told fellow MPs that the bill defines domestic violence as “an act or behaviour which inflicts pain and injury on another person physically, sexually, emotionally, verbally, psychologically and economically”.
“We should really be proud today because we have been successful in presenting this bill after 20 years of work,” Ms Tampane said to loud cheers and ululations by fellow MPs at the time.
But the cheers and ululations quickly died down and for more than 10 months, there was no movement despite Ms Tampane’s frequent pleas to legislators to approve the bill.
As recently as two weeks ago, she made an impassioned plea to her colleagues to stop procrastinating and swiftly approve the bill.
She said in all the months that the legislators had dilly-dallied, domestic violence had continued to rise alarmingly. Her ministry was extremely worried by the upsurge in domestic violence hence the need to pass the bill to deal with the scourge, she said.
“Police reports have shown that the cases of domestic violence in families and communities in general have increased since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and we find this very disturbing as a ministry.
“I am pleading with this house to pass this bill which will help protect the nation against such cruelty, especially the crimes against vulnerable people.
“As the ministry responsible, we have done our part by drafting the bill to help combat these crimes. We are now asking for the support from this august house. Abuse makes for a sad nation and it also affects the country’s economy. It is our collective responsibility to stand together and fight abuse in all its forms,” Ms Tampane said.
Her pleas were finally heard last week when the bill was approved by MPs.
In his address to fellow MPs this week, the chairperson for the parliamentary social cluster, Faku Moshoeshoe, said the bill sought to abolish abusive practices which degraded children and women such as forced marriages, the practice of marrying off widows to brothers of their deceased husbands and the practice of marrying off men to their infertile wives’ sisters. It also seeks to criminalise incest, in particular sexual relations between parents and their children.
But analysts insist the law alone will not achieve the desired results.
Among others, the analysts say there is a need for a vibrant civic society, addressing unequal gender power relations that are the root cause of gender-based violence (GBV) and capacitating the police and the judiciary. They say capacitation must be stepped up for the judiciary and the police force so that cases that are reported to the police can be prosecuted and the perpetrators sentenced accordingly.
Any form of violence is already illegal in Lesotho and there are laws in place, but they are not enforced. Therefore, if the police and the judiciary are inefficient, the bill will be just another ineffective law.
Gender based violence is rife in Lesotho. According to a 2020 United Nations Women report, one in three women and girls in Lesotho have been abused by their sexual partner in the last year. Less than 40 percent of women who experience violence report it or seek help, the report said.
A Commonwealth report of September 2020 found that violence against women and girls is costing the country at least 5, 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) through absenteeism from work by victims, court litigations, hospitalisation and counselling among other things.
For ‘Mabataung Mokhatali, the president of the Lesotho Council of Women, there is a need to reshape the country’s patriarchal culture to emulate the law.
She argues that children, especially males, are not trained to value and protect females. Later in life, it becomes normal for them to abuse women. Therefore, the law alone will not be deterrent.
“At times our culture works against us,” Ms Mokhatali says.
“Children at a tender age are taught that females are an inferior gender and that males can do whatever they want to do with defenceless females. We must teach our children from a tender age to value and respect women. We must be intentional about reshaping our culture and instilling respect for human life in the young generation. This also applies to the females who must be bold in standing up for their rights.
“The government and the civil society must set up campaigns to disseminate information in both rural and urban areas sensitising people on what GBV is and the importance of reporting it whenever it is committed. Without this, the law will be useless.”
The judiciary and the police must be capacitated for the bill to be fully implemented; she adds. The judiciary currently has a backlog of over 4000 cases that have piled up in the High Court over the years.
On the other hand, the police force has proven to be inept. Chief among its short comings is its failure to investigate cases and bring offenders to book. When the police arrest offenders, they have been accused of brutalising suspects.
For this reason, therapist, Paul Luanga Banda, thinks capacitating the police should be the first port of call. Currently, he says, the police have no capacity to assist victims. He likens coming up with a bill without giving the police the requisite training as tantamount to putting the horse before the chart.
“The bill is welcome as it is historic given the rampant GBV statistics in the country. It’s a step in the right direction. However, when building a house one cannot erect a roof before building the foundation or supporting structures to hold the roof.
“The law enforcement officers currently have no capacity to combat GBV. The police must be trained to understand the dynamics of all forms of abuse. They need training that enables them to understand the problem and the damage or consequences of GBV. The police must protect the victims and not treat them as perpetrators. If victims are scared to go and report abuse to the police, then the bill will not be worth the paper it is printed on.
“We need to be practical because abuse is traumatic, so my appeal to the government is to set up victim support units in all stations specifically to deal with GBV and related abuses. As a professional, I am ready to train selected officers in this field. It needs only a few days and follow up training for effective response to the surge,” Dr Banda says.
Last year, a rape victim ended up reporting her case at Pitso Ground after officers at Maseru Central Police Station accused her of fabricating her assault. Others accused her of contravening lockdown regulations that were in place at the time instead of assisting her. And Dr Banda says this can be avoided if police officers are trained.
Lawyer and journalist, Ray Mungoshi agrees with Dr Banda. He proffers that the bill will be useless without training of police officers.
“The bill will not succeed unless the police are capacitated to appreciate and understand GBV and all the dynamics involved. There is also a need to capacitate the judiciary, the more it remains conservative, the less the hope for the bill to be a panacea to current problems in this space,” Mr Mungoshi says.
Scholar, Moeketsi Kali, in his 2020 paper titled Women Empowerment in Lesotho: Reality And/or Myth? argues that Lesotho’s laws must be adjusted to accommodate women.
“The government must resolve the loopholes in the legal system and reconsider its approach and place resources at the disposal of women to achieve equality and equity.
“Unless the laws are amended, until a decisive initiative is taken to reconcile the dilemma and contradiction between the constitution and customary laws and unless the government reinvigorate its commitment, women empowerment, though a reality, will not transcend mediocrity.
“Patriarchy, cultural norms, customs, religious practices; and both normative and structural discriminatory practices are usually the main factors that perpetuate gender inequality and mitigate empowerment, especially of women and girls,” notes Mr Kali in the paper.
