Gender-Primarily based Violence (GBV) is a delicate matter that requires professionals working with victims and survivors to be empathetic. 

The World Well being Group (WHO)‘Scientific Handbook on the Well being Care of Survivors Subjected to Intimate Companion Violence and/or Sexual Violence, Namibia’ has helped docs, social employees and nurses like Mark Bezuidenhout, an enrolled nurse at Epako Clinic, to be extra delicate towards their sufferers. 

The handbook was initially meant for medical docs, nevertheless, nurses and social employees have additionally discovered the handbook helpful to their work. 

“The handbook may be very useful. It makes it simpler to take care of GBV shoppers as a result of it helps us take care of sufferers empathetically and in ways in which profit them.  Beforehand we regularly received caught and didn’t know what to do subsequent or who to contain,” says Bezuidenhout. 

He’s additionally extra conscious of the totally different types of GBV violence. “I’m extra conscious on take care of the rape survivors and people subjected to different kinds of GBV,” says Bezuidenhout. 

He has needed to take care of sufferers who’re abused bodily, emotionally and sexually. The bulk are girls of reproductive age. “We refer these sufferers to the social employees for additional interventions,” defined Bezuidenhout. 

Justina Shoopala is a Senior Registered Nurse on the Rundu State Hospital. A technique she has been in a position to choose up that her sufferers had been presumably being abused is after they would refuse to return house after being discharged from the hospital. 

“Typically instances they’d refuse to inform us why they don’t need to go house however with additional probing, we might inform that they’re experiencing some type of abuse after which we might refer them to the social employees,” explains Shoopala. 

She additional notes that when the identical affected person is admitted to the hospital ‘many instances with no indicators of great bodily signs in addition they dig deeper to rule out potential abuse. “The coaching sensitized us on ask inquiries to the shopper with out being insensitive,” Shoopala says.

Audrey Gaes, a social employee for the Ministry of Well being and Social Companies within the Erongo area has been working with GBV sufferers typically recognized by docs or nurses. Whether or not the sufferers return for follow-up periods with the social employees will depend on their socioeconomic standing. 


“You will need to set up rapport with the sufferers as a result of that determines their willingness of the sufferers to proceed. We train them independence as a result of a few of them keep in relationships due to psychological, psychological, and emotional dependency. So, they should be taken by way of this course of,” Gaes stated. 

GBV causes

Gender-based violence has numerous causes, the well being professionals notice. Accessive alcohol consumption and poverty are among the many contributing components that end in GBV. “You can find younger ladies with sugar daddies who find yourself abusing them,” provides Bezuidenhout. 

He feels that nurses ought to ask questions when underaged youngsters come to the hospital for antenatal care. “Not each nurse or well being employee is conscious of statutory rape and that there’s a penalty for not reporting it,” noticed Bezuidenhout.  

For this reason coaching extra nurses on the scientific handbook will probably be essential, provides Bezuidenhout. “Typically instances the nurses would simply deal with the affected person for the illness they got here for, so I feel extra nurses ought to be skilled to determine GBV circumstances in order that they’ll refer the shoppers who is likely to be experiencing this to the social employees. It might even be nice if there is usually a unit for such circumstances the place individuals can come and really feel protected,” stated Bezuidenhout. 

Practice the regulation enforcement officers

Whereas this coaching has helped Bezuidenhout, he feels that regulation enforcement officers also needs to be skilled within the scientific handbook. “The handbook is so helpful that the regulation enforcement officers may benefit from it. Many of the GBV circumstances are referred to them so they might actually profit from this coaching,” stated Bezuidenhout. 

“The handbook must be decentralized, involving the Ministry of Gender, and the GBV unit as a result of for them in the event that they perhaps have a rape case, they are going to simply come and say we’ve a rape case with out being delicate to the shopper. Confidentiality is vital. So, it is going to be good for them to be skilled on the booklet,” added Bezuidenhout. 

Angaleni Kangayi, the Regional Chief Social Employee in Rundu agrees that the coaching ought to be offered to different stakeholders. “This can assist us perceive the function different stakeholders are enjoying in addressing GBV,” stated Kangayi.

The affect of COVID on GBV programmes

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an affect on GBV companies, says Bezuidenhout. He’s the one nurse stationed on the Epako clinic who participated within the coaching. The primary coaching came about earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic. However, when Covid-19 hit, his consideration was geared towards that. 

“My work was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic as a result of I’ve been out on vaccination campaigns,” he says. He additionally doesn’t have a session room the place he sees GBV sufferers. “In the meanwhile I’m attending to TB (tuberculosis) sufferers,” he stated. Comparable, Shoopala feels that the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted their focus away from GBV and calls on the Ministry and companions to proceed their assist for the implementation of the Scientific Handbook.