28 Nov 2017

Parliamentary Caucus on Women has condemned  the brutal incidents of sexual abuse and exploitation of women and girls that continue to rise.

Delivering a statement in Parliament on November 27, Parliamentary Caucus on Women Chairperson, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso said the recent incidents of Gender Based Violence (GBV) among girls and women would  leave deep scars in them, breeding broken souls that would in future exhibit the same traits of GBV.

She said as Parliament reflects on the 16 Days of Activism against  GBV it was important to reflect on heartbreaking activities that had been recently  reported in the country.

“The Parliamentary Caucus on Women strongly condemns the reported sexual assault and murder of a nine-year-old White City girl in Gaborone.

It is with regret that such brutal incidents still befall our nation despite efforts to ensure the children’s right to life and protection against sexual abuse and exploitation as enshrined in the Children’s Act of 2009 Section 10(1) (2)  and Section 25 (1) (2) and (3),” she said.

She said the committee further condemns brutal killings that recently happened in Tlokweng where a woman was strangled by her alleged boyfriend who buried her in a grave which they had dug together the previous day in an adjacent house.

“Still in Tlokweng a corpse of a woman was found in a bag wrapped with blanket and dumped in the bush while police discovered 15 used male condoms and two unused female condoms at the scene,” she said.

Ms Tshireletso further called on the government to avail funds in the national budget towards a support fund for victims of GBV.

She also called on private sector to come on board to assist funding NGOs whose mandate was to fight GBV.

Ms Tshireletso hailed Botswana for the launch of HeForShe Campaign initiative by the UN Women that calls on men and boys to pledge unwavering support for women and the girl child.

The campaign seeks to involve male counterparts to take a lead in supporting empowerment of women.

He urged all men to append their signatures at the HEforShe gazebo erected at Parliament gardens for the support of the campaign to fight GBV.

MPs pledged to fight and support elimination of GBV in the society as well as strengthening prevention and response of GBV at all levels of the society.

They also recommended the introduction of sex offender registry, which they said may bring positive results. BOPA