Gender-based violence (GBV) is a big challenge in the country as there has been a spike in related cases. There have been many reports of perpetrators, most of who tend to be male, killing their intimate partners or beating them up to a pulp. In most of these cases, all this violence is done in the name of love! Love is a beautiful thing and no one who claims to love another can ever wish harm on the object of their affection let alone inflict pain upon them. A few weeks ago, the nation was shaken following the gruesome murder of two little innocent souls by their father, who after that painful act committed suicide. One of the biggest challenges that we face as a nation is that we always try to justify acts of violence. We are all too quick to shield convention, shame, and lies rather than protect the vulnerable, innocent, and the truth. In such cases of intimate partner violence, it is not uncommon for more value to be placed on one gender over the other or age over innocence, which unfortunately for all things of value are most protected even at the expense of truth-tellers who often carry the burden of presenting the evidence.

This is of course of no surprise as for most people it is much easier to scapegoat rather than deal with the truth, which can be messy, ugly, and at times gruesome. While the burden of truth calls for evidence, it is the other side that will carry no such burden and will do all to cover it up. Oftentimes this truth will be buried under lies, shame, and crushed under all things from negative cultural perceptions of women as they make it much easier to turn away from it. Where possible enemies of truth hide from it, take no ownership, and will not take accountability. There is nothing and will never be anything to justify cruelty to another human being! Yes, there are cases of self-defence, which on our shores are very few. It is a given that when someone comes at you intending to harm you, you will also have to defend yourself, which unfortunately may end with someone being killed. However, here such cases are a drop in the ocean.

In our March 13 edition, we carried an article in which a BIUST student died from injuries sustained after she refused sexual advances made by a man who had given her a lift. The young woman went to a hitchhiking spot/bus stop to get a ride to her destination and it is clear that she intended to pay for her ride, but as luck was not on her side, she got a ride from a man who had ulterior motives. On the way, the man is alleged to have demanded sex from the young woman and when she refused, he turned violent on her. Unfortunately, she later succumbed to injuries at Princess Marina Hospital. What on earth did that young woman do to deserve such treatment from an adult male who had given a ride to hitchhikers at a bus stop? None whatsoever! The bigger question here is, what kind of person let alone a grown man does something this heinous? It is just barbaric! Misconceptions held by some men that they are supposed to get their way with every woman are misogynistic if not chauvinistic.

These kinds of men have to know that no means no! Proposing love or other issues is allowed as that is how people get into courtship and some end up getting married, but being turned down is also part of life and as such should be accepted as something normal! What is not normal is someone flexing their muscle just because they have been turned down! We are mindful that issues of GBV affect all genders, but statistics have shown that females suffer more abuse at the hands of their significant other, acquaintances, people they know, or family members. This has to stop and government should consider tightening the law to adequately punish culprits. Enough is enough!