SINCE the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Lesotho, emerging data reveals that Leribe has the highest recorded cases of all types of violence against both women and girls, the Minister of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation Likeleli Tapane has shown.

As the world retreated indoors due to the lockdown measures employed to curb the proliferation of the deadly virus, she said reports show a trend of exploding cases of violence perpetrated against women countrywide.

Violence against women is recognised as one of the most persistent and devastating human rights violations of the current times, an issue discussed every day of the week.

Ms Tampane said a lot needs to be done to prioritise addressing the issue of gender based violence (GBV) in COVID-19 response and recovery initiatives.

Launching the 16-days of activism against GBV on Monday in Maseru, the minister invited all to take action to support the 16 days of activism for the no violence against women and children campaign.

She said GBV includes all forms of violence against people based on their gender, or violence that affects people of a particular gender disproportionately.

Violence against women and girls, she noted, is one of the most widespread and devastating human rights violations, which remains largely unreported due to silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.