Still speaking at Katima Mulilo, Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) Minister Emma Kantema said that although technology is a powerful tool for empowerment, it has become a new frontier for violence that manifests in various forms.

These include cyberbullying, online harassment, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and gendered hate speech, which have various societal consequences.

Dr Kantema said these acts are not confined to cyberspace, but they have real-world consequences that affect mental health, silence voices, and exclude women and girls from full participation in public life.

The minister stressed that the psychological toll is immense, with the legal and institutional responses remaining inadequate.

This requires the nation to act decisively and collectively to ensure that digital spaces reflect the values of freedom, equality, and respect for human dignity as enshrined in the Constitution.

She said digital rights, often violated by many people in Namibia, are human rights and ought to be protected with the same urgency and resolve as any other fundamental freedom.

The minister made reference to statistics that indicate that 4,405 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases were recorded between April 2024 and February 2025.