Mozambique: Bar Association calls multisectoral response to gender-based violence

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Mozambique: Bar Association calls multisectoral response to gender-based violence

1:10 CAT | 07 Nov 2025

Screengrab: StrongLive TV

The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) calls for multisectoral measures to fight gender-based violence as it continues being one of the most persistent violations of human rights.

According to OAM chairperson, Carlos Martins, who was speaking on Thursday in Maputo at the opening of the “National Seminar on Gender-Based Violence”, gender-based violence remains an unresolved issue that transcends borders, cultures and social classes, constituting one of the most persistent violations of human rights.

“Gender-based violence is the result of historical inequalities between men and women, sustained by social structures that legitimize behaviour based on domination and exclusion. This type of violence manifests itself physically, emotionally, economically, symbolically. It also occurs in the digital environment”, he said.

Martins noted that the figures are alarming, revealing that one in three women worldwide suffers physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, and “in Mozambique, over 40 percent of women are victims of such abuse.”

Behind the statistics, he warned, there are stories of pain and silence, “which represent collective failures as a society.”

Martins highlighted the importance of the Law against Domestic Violence, which classifies the crime as public, ensuring the legal prosecution of cases even when there is resistance from victims, who are often conditioned by economic dependence.

“Combating gender-based violence requires more than legislation, as it requires cultural change, the promotion of equality and the strengthening of policies on shelter, psychological support and legal protection”, he said.

For his turn, Miguel Micocejo, the OAM Human Rights Advisor, said that the last five years have revealed worrying statistics on gender-based violence across the country, from large cities to rural areas.

“The OAM, through the Human Rights Commission (CDHOAM), promotes awareness-raising, monitoring and legal assistance to victims, acting discreetly or publicly, depending on the context. Domestic violence against women, children and young people constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights”, he said.

Source: AIM