The law drives Gender-Based Violence - Ndadi
Maranyane Ngwanaamotho | Wednesday November 27, 2013 17:51
Ndadi argued that the new law compels those who have tested HIV positive to disclose to whomsoever they have sexual intercourse with.
This law will perpetuate violence towards women who are in most cases the first to know their HIV status compared to their partners.
“We all know that women are usually the first ones to know,” he said. “They are the ones who frequent health facilities, compared to men. We are going to have a situation where women will be blamed and suffer violence for bringing the virus home.
“Disclosure that is not coupled with a conducive environment can only lead to abuse in the home, Ndadi said. “This law is going to intensify and drive domestic violence against women living with HIV and AIDS,” he emphasised.
“Disclosure should be accompanied by readiness and an accommodative, conducive environment, and should not be done under pressure.”
Ndadi said BONELA is concerned with the escalating numbers of cases of abuse against women, children and some men.
Gender-Based Violence leads to a dysfunctional society, he noted.
“We believe that violence gives birth to many social ills like alcohol abuse and vulnerability to HIV and AIDS,” Ndadi said.
“Research has shown that women are susceptible to contracting HIV and AIDS.
They struggle to negotiate safe sex or make decisions regarding their bodies.”
BONELA is therefore calling for targeted interventions on issues of Gender-Based Violence.
This is based on the fact that the violence that people come across is peculiar to the circumstances that they live in.
“For example, sex workers are beaten and not paid because of the environment that they work under,” Ndadi observed.
“School going children are beaten and sexually assaulted by teachers. There is also Gender-Based Violence in the workplace where sex is used in exchange for favours. This is violence that cuts to the heart of the dignity of women.”
Ndadi said without targeted interventions, the country is bound to fail in its fight against GBV.
He said there is a domestic violence policy whose problem is that it is not comprehensive enough to cover all instances of violence. In his view, the policy should be revisited to make sure that it talks to most faces of violence.
Meanwhile, Cindy Kelemi of BONELA has said that they will have a two-month long campaign of activism of no violence against women and children.
During the campaign, they will profile cases of abuse among girls and women aged between 15 and 49 years.
Kelemi said the testimonials will be shared with the public through the media in an effort to educate people on GBV.