Protect cohabiting couples - Hubbard

THE Legal Assistance Centre’s gender advocate Dianne Hubbard last week said there will be legal protection for cohabiting couples in the near future.

She said this in her presentation on the current status of gender equality and women’s rights in Namibia at the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) on Friday. Hubbard said based on research done by the Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) and the LAC, recommendations were made to protect those in cohabiting relationships. She said couples living together will be encouraged to register a contract stating their respective property rights and draw up their will. Some couples live together for up to 30 years, and the LAC had thus proposed that if a couple live together for two years and more, there should be rudimentary automatic protection.