02 Dec 2018

Chobe District has for the first time in four years recorded a decrease in incidents of Gender Based Violence (GBV).     

 Botswana Police Service statistics show a sharp decrease in GBV cases in 2018 relating to offences ranging from common assault to unlawful wounding, grievous harm and use of insulting language. 

The district recorded 69 incidents of common assault in 2018 compared to 302 cases in 2017 and 433 in 2016. Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm dropped to nine this year from last year’s 100. 

Similarly threats to kill incidents decreased to one case this year compared to 10 last year while murder dropped to two cases compared to last year’s four. 

Gender focal person for Chobe Police District, Ms Kesegofetse Keitumetse said the improvement followed intensive public education by police as well as other stakeholders.

 “People are now policing each other by reporting GBV incidents on behalf of neighbours,” she stated. 

Incidents of rape and defilement, however, continue to rise, increasing from seven to 13 and from six to eight respectively for 2017 and 2018. 

One rape cases, Ms Keitumetse noted that it involved two men as one man forced himself on another. 

Ms Keitumetse also noted that they had started making presentations to churches to broaden their community reach. 

However, she said not all churches were as receptive as they had hoped. 

“Some churches give us 10 to 15 minutes while others avail an entire day’s programme for us to make presentations.” GBV, she opined, needs to be as prioritised by the church as other issues of national interest. 

Religious leaders also admitted that they should do more to join the fight against GBV. Pastor Karabo Koosimile of Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) emphasised that they needed to introduce platforms and activities to facilitate conversations about GBV. 

“We are open to collaborating with other stakeholders such as Botswana Police Service to spread the message against GBV because any form of abuse and violence is ungodly,” he stated. 

He emphasised the need to identify the root cause of GBV and preach the message of peace in the family.

 “It would be pointless for the church to grow in numbers while its members continue to live in fear,” Pastor Koosimile said.

Representatives from traditional leadership also acknowledged that while GBV cases had decreased, couples who cohabited were more likely to be involved in GBV as compared to married couples. 

Court president of Kasane kgotla, Mr Thuso Wasetso said his ward frequently handled GBV cases that involved women who were cohabiting.

 “Most of them are young under the age of 40,” he said. However the very women, he said, were quick to withdraw such cases. 

Plateau ward court president, Mr Reuben Majeremane underscored the need for thorough counselling in addition to corporal punishment that the customary process administered  as punishment. 

“Corporal punishment does not address the root cause hence the need for additional counselling,” he said. 

Chobe District has for the past four years organised its  own one billion rising campaign against gender based violence in addition to other internationally recognised anti-GBV commemorations. 

Part of the focus was to place emphasis on the need to report GBV as it had been established that some of the cases were unreported as well as raise awareness about GBV. This year’s statistics could be an indication that there has been increased awareness, or that gender based violence victims were not reporting such incidents as expected. 

Internationally, a 2018 global study on gender related homicide by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UBODC) revealed that 87 000 women were intentionally killed in 2017. 

This was done either by an intimate partner or family members. Asia leads in this regard with 20 000 followed by Africa with 19 000 in 2017. ENDS