Speak up about violence

Letters

I READ in a report in this newspaper on Friday about a village court magistrate being charged with assaulting his wife.
It was reported that he attacked his elementary school teacher wife while she was in class.
As a man, the deed in itself was cowardly and disrespectful.
He did not respect his wife, the school she was in, the children she was teaching and the community in which the school is located.
However, the more serious thing is he was a person of authority and that is unbecoming of someone who has more knowledge on the laws of our nation.
My concern is it seems that men and women in authority, people who should know better, are often the worst offenders.
I am of the view that many people, both men and women, who are well-versed in our laws, are using violence in their homes to address issues.
The only difference between the magistrate and others is that the magistrate’s offence was reported to police while other victims keep quiet.
There have been social media reports of women who were abused at home but, days later, both the woman and man deny that there any violence was used.
Such denials do not help in the fight to stop gender-based violence (GBV) or any violence for that matter.
Additionally, I have not heard many magistrates, lawyers, judges, police commanders, defence force officers or department secretaries standing up to support this fight against violence.
Is it because they are busy with their duties to support this worthy cause or are they also guilty of using violence?
For some of us, we are still waiting for the outcome of the case regarding the teen mother who died allegedly due to her husband beating her.
We also hope that men and women in authority, those in the blue and green uniform who know something about her case while she was living with her grandfather in a military compound, will stand up like real officers and help in giving information.
You will be serving your country by being honest about this.
It is time to man up and speak up, even if it paints a bad picture of you and your colleagues.
You cannot profess to be loyal servants of this country and keep quiet about violence in homes and our institutions.
Be true and tell the truth and support the fight against violence.

All violence is wrong