Omusati Police Commander Ismael Basson said the unprofessional attitudes of some police officers are discouraging for men who mean to report cases of gender-based violence (GBV).
He said GBV-related matters should not be discussed in public at charge offices but should be conducted in private for the sake of the victim.
Basson remarked this at a one-day Omusati Regional Men's Conference, held at Outapi.
The regional conference brought men together to discuss matters from crime to gender-based violence in the region.
99% of crimes reported in the region are committed by men.
During the 2022/2023 financial year, a total of 351 cases of GBV were reported in Omusati, and that number has risen to 454 cases during 2023/2024.
The conference focused more on domestic violence as a way of addressing the escalating trend of rape and abuse of women and girls.
"We are talking about grandfathers, pastors, own fathers, and in general men that are raping small girls and boys. We have an incident of three pastors who have raped kids, a grandfather who has raped his grandson, that causes us to call men under one roof and see how we address and talk about this issue," said Commissioner Basson.
Commissioner Basson added that men may also be victims of gender-based violence but find it difficult to report such cases because of the unprofessional behaviour of some officers.
He said men are silent victims in the chain of GBV and end up killing women out of frustration.
Omusati Governor Erginus Endjala wants to see changes in the upbringing of both the girl and boy child.
"A man in our tradition is a self-made man because you are told even if you are in pain men don't cry, and I cannot also go to my parents and start telling them this one beats me; I will be told you coward go and fight. What you are saying is to say I am brought up to protect myself whatever comes my way. As a result, the anger that I am carrying does not discriminate any longer. Tomorrow I meet a woman, and when she starts raising her voice, the only mechanism I have is to use my physical force."
The conference also considered suicide statistics, with the figures showing 46 men committed suicide in 2021, compared to 12 females over the same period.
In 2022, male suicides were recorded at 61 and female suicides, at 16.
The next year, 2023, the statistics rose higher still, with 75 men and 22 women who committed suicide.
So far this year, 38 men and seven females have committed suicide.