Erongo Governor Neville Andre has revealed alarming data from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, which recorded 10,401 social problems across the Erongo Region from April 2024 to March 2025.
Andre, therefore, emphasised the need for collaboration among faith-based groups, civil society, and government agencies to address the root causes of violence, including poverty, trauma, and harmful social norms.
While speaking at the pastors' meeting held at Walvis Bay, he said the town alone accounted for 4,720 of these cases, followed by Swakopmund with 3,246.
Among these social issues, about 1,229 were identified as gender-based violence cases, including domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, child neglect, and sexual violence.
According to Governor Andre, about 11% of all social issues reported in the region were related to GBV.
He therefore emphasised the need for more comprehensive data from all sectors, including churches and private institutions, to understand the full extent of the crisis.
He called on communities to conduct their own contextual research to better understand the causes of GBV and design tailored interventions.
He stated that GBV is not just a legal issue, as it is deeply rooted in society's emotional, psychological, and economic challenges.
"As we are mourning life's loss prematurely, unfairly and unnaturally, we need to raise questions about why our society is experiencing such horrific acts of violence, and we need to make joint efforts to find answers rather than speculate. Why is it that some of our boys and men become perpetrators of violence? We must think of what is happening in our communities, our neighbourhoods, and our homes, which greatly exposes our female population and most vulnerable groups to violence. Why is it that the majority of our males find themselves to be the perpetrators of this violence? What can we do to bring about change? These are questions we need to ask ourselves."
He added that many perpetrators may be suffering from unresolved trauma or undiagnosed mental health conditions.
Pastor Jackey Fredericks of ELCRN's Hosianna Parish raised concerns over schoolgirls suspected to be prostituting themselves.
"We will not accomplish our goals to overcome the social ills. When the governor was giving the statistics, I was praying, Please mention this point. Schoolgirl prostitution is rising at an alarming rate. On the other side, where the mall is, there is a service there where the trucks are parked. There are mornings when we come to the office, and we are picking up used condoms along the walls. Our girls in our homes are doing this for survival."
Zambezi police commissioner Nikolaus Kupembona called on the community to report issues hindering communities, such as drug trafficking.
"There is a lack of proper parenting and upbringing, and we noticed that most houses are headed by single mothers, single parents and even minors. Also, the majority of these mothers are also young. They are also unable to give proper parenting, and those are some of the issues which are really affecting our community. To execute this, we are also having some challenges in terms of a lack of cooperation from some of the public members in reporting crimes and sharing the information. That is why we are moving from church to church and from gathering to gathering just to share or to encourage our communities to come forward to report some of these issues that are affecting our communities."