Sidvokodvo – Eswatini’s National Commissioner of Police, Vusi Manoma Masango, says the police need society’s cooperation to end gender-based violence in perpetuity.
Masango was speaking at the opening of the national GBV symposium themed ‘A collective response to end gender-based violence’, which is happening at The Luke Commission in Sidvokodvo.
The symposium is hosted by the Eswatini Royal Police Service (REPS) in collaboration with the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, civil society organisations and development partners. 
Masango said Eswatini needed to learn best practices from other countries to firmly respond to GBV.
GBV survivors range in age from zero to fifteen years, including kids, women, people with impairments, and the elderly.
“We’ve come to appeal to you, MaSwati. We do not know what happened. What are we failing to do as police? Masango added that His Majesty King Mswati III never tires of speaking about agape love.
“We need to end today with solutions,” he said.
The two-day event will have a black-themed dress code to communicate the message of stopping GBV. The police, who are usually the first responders, have witnessed horrifying crime scenes. Because of this circumstance, the REPS has increased the number of policemen receiving psychotherapy.
“Police are compelled to react to crime scenes. If you can imagine how terrible the crime scene is for police; think about the relatives, friends, and family members – how much trauma they will have to deal with,” he stated.
