How Healing Men Helped Protect Women in Namibia

For years, we, Wakambadhala Kusindi Youth Group (WAKUYG) worked on the frontlines in the informal settlements of Windhoek, supporting Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW). We created safe spaces, offered counseling, and provided health education. Yet despite our efforts, HIV infection rates remained high and gender-based violence continued to devastate our community.

It felt like we were fighting a battle we could not win.

Then we started noticing a painful pattern.

Many of the men connected to these cases were returning from prison carrying deep, unaddressed trauma especially sexual violence experienced while in custody. They came back angry, ashamed and often without support. That pain did not stay with them. It followed them home.

We realized something difficult but necessary. Were treating the symptoms, but not the source.

Everything changed when we met Dantago (name changed), a 28-year-old man who had recently been released from prison. When he first joined our pilot support group, he barely spoke. Overtime, he began to open up about the abuse he had experienced and the anger he carried. One day, he said quietly, ''I did not realize I was passing pain to the people I love''.

That moment change everything for us.

It become clear that if we truly wanted to protect women and girls, we had to be willing to engage the men, not as enemies, but as human beings in need of healing.

This was our ''Give to Gain'' moment.

We launched the Safe Haven For Men, a space dedicated to helping men process trauma, take responsibility for their actions and rebuild their lives. At first, the community questioned us. Why focus on men when women were suffering?

But we held onto a simple truth. Safety is not a zero-sum game.

As men began to heal, we saw a shift. Participants started seeking HIV testing, engaging in open conversations about accountability, and changing how they related to their partners and families. Some even became advocates, standing alongside women to speak out against violence.

What we gave, empathy, space and support. We gained back in safer homes and stronger communities.

This collective transformation led to and unexpected outcomes. Together, men and women in our programs raised their voices and successfully advocated for changes to the Youth Development Fund (YDF) criteria, removing barriers that had kept many young people from accessing economic opportunities.

This experience reshaped our understanding of impact.

We once believed that protecting women focusing only on women. but we learned that real, lasting change requires us to look at the full system, including those we might overlook or even fear.

By choosing to heal men, we did not lose sight of our mission. We strengthened it.

Join the Movement

We encourage others to ask a difficult question; Who are we leaving out of the solution?

Because sometimes, the people we hesitate to include are the very ones we need to create lasting change.

For years, we, Wakambadhala Kusindi Youth Group (WAKUYG) worked on the frontlines in the informal settlements of Windhoek, supporting Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW). We created safe spaces, offered counseling, and provided health education. Yet despite our efforts, HIV infection rates remained high and gender-based violence continued to devastate our community.

It felt like we were fighting a battle we could not win.

Then we started noticing a painful pattern.

Many of the men connected to these cases were returning from prison carrying deep, unaddressed trauma especially sexual violence experienced while in custody. They came back angry, ashamed and often without support. That pain did not stay with them. It followed them home.

We realized something difficult but necessary. Were treating the symtoms, but not the source.

Everything changed when we met Dantago (name changed), a 28-year-old man who had recently been released from prison. When he first joined our pilot support group, he barely spoke. Overtime, he began to open up about the abuse he had experienced and the anger he carried. One day, he said quitely, ''I did not realize I was passing pain to the people I love''.

That moment change everything for us.

It become clear that if we truly wanted to protect women and girls, we had to be willing to engage the men, not as enemies, but as human beings in need of healing.

This was our ''Give to Gain'' moment.

We launced the Safe Haven For Men, a space didecated to helping men process trauma, take responsibility for their actions and rebuild thier lives. At first, the community questined us. Why focus on men when women were suffering?

But we held onto a simple truth. Safety is not a zero-sum game.

As men began to heal, we saw a shift. Participants started seeking HIV testing, engaging in open converstions about accountability, and changing how they related to their partners and families. Some even became advocates, standing alongside women to speak out against violence.

What we gave, empathy, space and support. We gained back in safer homes and stronger communities.

This collective transformation led to and unexpected outcomes. Together, men and women in our programs raised their voices and successfully advocated for changes to the Youth Development Fund (YDF) criteria, removing barriers that had kept many young people from accessing economic opportunities.

This experience reshaped our understanding of impact.

We once belived that protecting women focusing only on women. but we learned that real, lasting chenge requires us to look at the full system, including those we might overlook or even fear.

By choosing to heal men, we did not lose sight of our mission. We strengthened it.

Join the Movement

We encourage others to ask a difficult queation; Who are we leaving out of the solution?

Because sometimes, the people we hesitate to include are the very ones we need to create lasting change.