21 Jul 2015

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in partnership with Statistics Botswana and the United States Centre for Disease Control, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (CDC-PEPFAR) and University of Botswana (UB) are embarking on a national household survey to assess violence against children.

Presenting before the Kgalagadi South Council meeting recently, the ministry’s technical assistant, Mr Daniel Motsatsing said the Violence against Children Survey (VACS) would be conducted in all districts with guidance from Statistics Botswana.

He told councillors that the aim of the survey was to estimate the prevalence of all kinds of violence against children, and that these would also include forced sexual intercourse as well as identify the health and social consequences associated with violence.

He said the survey would target the female populace of age range (13-24 years) and that “a split sample” approach would be applied.

Responding to the presentation, councillors commended the ministry to have come with such a noble idea, and suggested that minors should be protected when conducting the survey. ENDS