26 Nov 2014

Violence should not only be addressed during the 16 days of activism against women and children but should be a daily agenda, speakers at the commemoration have advised. 

Presenting on the statistics that backed the existence of violence in the Serowe community, Superintendent Betty Kopelo of Botswana Police Service challenged even the faith based organisations to address gender-based violence at their places of worship.

Supt Kopelo said they would soon roll out the message to the general public in preaching peace at homes, a move which might yield peace in the world as envisioned  in the theme, ‘peace at homes to peace in the world: lets challenge militarism and end violence against women.’

Statistics showed that assault common cases were rampant in the Serowe community. In 2012, Serowe police recorded an overwhelming 623 cases of assault common. There was a slight decrease in 2013 where 599 cases were recorded and 427 cases were recorded in 2014.

Supt Kopelo said statistics showed that many victims of rape were either attacked at their homes, along the streets or at the drinking spots either by acquaintances or strangers. Acquaintances may be ex-lovers or relatives and Supt Kopelo revealed that majority of the perpetrators’ age range from 18 to 35. 

For her part, Ms Selebaleng Kanokang of Gender Affairs department revealed even women could abuse men and children even though the majority of such perpetrators are men. However, Ms Kanokang urged the gathering to appreciate the good side of men.

She too reiterated the need to address gender based violence at every gathering to ensure Botswana puts an end to this scourge. 

 She found that there were still people who preferred tackling gender based violence cases at family levels even those beyond that stage. She said there were people who were still afraid of reporting violence to the police.

She warned that when it finally hits home people would then appreciate the existence of gender based violence, hence the need to introspect for some amelioration to put an end to gender based violence. ENDS