12 June 2026 by Limpho Sello

“When you report one case, there are probably a whole lot of other numbers that are not reported,” the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative, John Kennedy Mosoti, said.

Mosoti argues that the actual number of gender-based violence (GBV) cases in Lesotho is likely far higher than official statistics suggest, as many survivors never report their experiences to the police.

To illustrate the systemic rot and deep-seated fear paralysing survivors, Mosoti shared a story of a university-educated woman who secretly reached out to him for help. Despite her academic privilege, Mosoti explained that she flatly refused to report her abuser to the authorities.

“She said, ‘No, I can’t go to the police, because the police will do this, the police will do that, the police will not be able to deal with it,” Mosoti recalled.

When Mosoti pressed further and offered to personally connect the woman with the Commissioner of Police and the head of the Children and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU), her response exposed a devastating conflict of interest. Her husband’s alleged new girlfriend is a police officer, who explicitly warned her that reporting the abuse would yield zero justice.

“So there’s a question of trust, there’s a question of not knowing exactly how it is going to end. There is a question of confidence that we will be able to get justice if we do this,” Mosoti noted.

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Ultimately, trapped by economic dependence and fear for her children’s survival, Mosoti explained that the woman chose to flee to her grandmother in a rural village rather than seek legal recourse.

Lesotho ranks second in the world for sexual and physical violence, with GBV actively killing Lesotho’s people, driving soaring suicide rates, fracturing families, and draining a massive 5.5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every single year.

Addressing a room of about 20 media professionals on 28 May 2026, Mosoti emphasised that the United Nations (UN) and local law enforcement are not starting from zero.

He praised the ongoing collaboration with the CGPU and announced a vital breakthrough: a newly established multi-purpose center has officially begun operations.

“I’m very proud to say that from last week that center is in operation. That means we can actually take in survivors, and there are survivors there right now. We have about 20 right now,” he revealed.

Counting the cost

Shifting the lens from individual heartbreak to societal consequence, Mariam Engeler, UNFPA Gender-Based Violence Analyst, introduced the brutal economic data underpinning the crisis.

Drawing from a pivotal, methodology-specific study, Engeler explained that while the data originates from 2019 to 2020, its truths remain entirely applicable in 2026. The study projected that violence against women and girls costs Lesotho approximately 5.5 percent of its GDP annually.

What does 5.5 percent GDP Loss Look Like? Calculated simply, it equates to roughly M816 ($50) per citizen, per year. “Each citizen could be 50 USD richer if we didn’t have GBV in the country,” Engeler said.

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Engeler clarified that this figure represents a conservative underestimation, as it explicitly excludes violence perpetrated against men and boys, and relies on a baseline prevalence rate of 31.1 percent. The 31.1 percent is widely believed to be far higher in reality (with previous studies placing it as high as 86 percent.

Furthermore, Engeler emphasised that the overwhelming majority of this violence is not committed by strangers, but by intimate partners and family members.

According to Engeler, the 5.5 percent loss to the economy comes from three major areas:

1. Money spent on services

When gender-based violence happens, the government and taxpayers spend money responding to it. This includes hospital treatment for survivors, salaries for doctors and nurses, police investigations, court proceedings, legal services, and the costs of keeping offenders in prison. Money that could have been used for development is instead spent dealing with the consequences of violence.

2. Financial losses suffered by survivors

Survivors often lose money and property because of abuse. Some must pay for transport, medical care, or legal help from their own pockets. Others are forced to leave their homes and belongings behind when escaping violence. Many also lose income when they cannot work or run their businesses.

3. Loss of productivity and economic contribution

Violence can affect a woman’s ability to work and earn a living. Trauma, injuries, or disability may cause her to miss work, reduce her productivity, or stop working altogether. This means less income for her family and less economic activity in the country because she has less money to spend and invest.

“It is almost always the survivor who pays the highest price, not just in terms of economy, but also in terms of mental trauma, physical trauma,” Engeler stated.

She quickly added: “However, the economic story is that the society more broadly also pays. It’s a very real loss to Basotho society.”

The investment case

Blandina Motaung, from the UNFPA, presented a powerful investment case aimed at shifting the mindset of policymakers, editors, and the public from reactive spending to proactive prevention.

Motaung explicitly warned that continuing with “business as usual”—relying solely on medical care, policing, and courts after the violence has already occurred, will yield zero change.

“It says we allow these women, girls and men to be abused and come to our facilities, and then what? The health sector, the justice, the policing, the social services are not enough for us to prevent gender-based violence,” she argued.

Motaung said the UNFPA is advocating for scientifically validated, high-impact interventions, including school-based life skills education, curriculum-based training, and rape and dating violence prevention.

She laid out the precise return on investment that an ambitious, target-driven approach can achieve for the country:

 “If we are ambitious, we will avert around 49,000 cases of GBV, and we will have invested 20 million people in a year’s notice,” Motaung revealed.

She emphasised that when compared to the massive losses outlined by Engeler, pushing for these ambitious targets will ultimately mean spending less on the backend of GBV.

“Women will be protected. Children will be able to go to school as a result of economy and education.

“What we are trying to say is that when we prepare for GBV, or when we report on gender-based violence, we should shift the mindset of whoever is reading that.

“We have to reduce the expenditure on gender-based violence, and avert gender-based violence, using high-impact interventions, investing in high-impact interventions,” Motaung concluded.

A call to journalists

The 28 May 2026 training on ethical GBV newswritting concluded with a searing mandate directed squarely at the journalists in attendance. Given the statistical reality of the room, Mosoti pointed out a devastating probability: out of the 30 attendees gathered, statistically 25 or more had likely experienced violence firsthand.

He challenged the urban media elite in Maseru to remember those hidden in the margins, particularly women and girls living with disabilities, who suffer entirely in the dark, far from the spotlight of society.

“Being number two in the world in all this kind of violence is not a good thing. It’s killing our young people. It’s killing our women. It’s killing our men. Let us stop it,” Mosoti impassionedly pleaded.

He reminded journalists that they are a mirror to the society.

“You have the power, the pen, and the mind to be able to shape society’s ways of thinking. You have the privilege of going on television and telling a story without anybody stopping you.

“Who is going to speak for them? You are the ones who are going to speak for them. Let’s give voice to the voiceless. Let’s give voice to the silent,” Mosoti concluded.