09 Dec 2015

Churches in Kumakwane on Tuesday (December 8) staged a walk against Gender Based Violence (GBV). 

The march organised by the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) in Kumakwane was part of the 16 days activism against GBV campaign.UCCSA Kumakwane intern minister, Ms Thunga Chimbombi said there was need for the church to pray and play an active role in the fight against GBV.  

Ms Chimbombi said most elderly are being violated by their children and this has contributed to insurgence of non-communicable diseases such high blood pressure among parents.

She said most parents are forced to support their grownup children economically while others watch their children engage in wayward behaviours.

Ms Chimbombi said more often when parents are exposed to emotional or physical violence, they have nowhere to confide, hence the need to sensitise the community about the trauma suffered by elders caused by their children. Mogoditshane-Kumakwane assistant AIDS district coordinator Ms Shirley Motlhake said there was correlation between HIV/AIDS and gender based violence.

She added that people who are emotionally or physically abused are often fearful to negotiate issues of sexual intercourse therefore their partners impose decisions on them.

Ms Motlhake added that women and girls are the mostly affected by gender based violence. She also decried churches which influence members to stop taking ARVs which works against preserving life and registering zero deaths caused by HIV/AIDS.

Another speaker, Sergeant Doreen Paledi of Botswana Police Service said GBV cases are in the increase in the village.

Sergeant Paledi said since the beginning of this year, Kumakwane has registered 41 cases of common assault, two rapes and two grievous bodily harm cases as well as a single case of murder.

She attributed high cases of common assaults to illegal alcohol outlets in the village and she further encouraged the community to join hands with the police to fight GBV.

Sergeant Paledi further encouraged the Kumakwane community to join community clusters in the village. The half a day event which was held at the village kgotla was attended by various churches from the village and other community members. Ends