05 Aug 2019

Chairperson of Serowe Men Sector, Mr Phillip Mokoto, has called on men to condemn gender-based violence (GBV).

He was speaking at a recent Men Sector meeting in Serowe  where he informed members about planned activities for Serowe Administrative Authority (SAA) in the current financial year.

He noted that women and girls continued to experience violence that entails murder, rape and assault.  

“This culture of violence must never be condoned,” he said.

He said although government had taken measures to develop legislation and programmes to respond to GBV, it remained one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the country.

Mr Mokoto said GBV was one of the most prevalent human rights and gender inequality violations in Botswana, adding that protection of women and children remained a challenge.

“To address this challenge, there is need for more concerted and rigorous efforts by all stakeholders, especially men because they are the ones who are causing this mischievous behaviour in our community. We need more men as partners to condemn and fight for the elimination of GBV in our society,” he said.

He pleaded with men and boys to join the cause for the prevention and response to GBV through commitment to Men Sector campaigns and urged all stakeholders to strengthen prevention and response of GBV at all levels of the society.

He said Men Sector was also fighting against the spread of HIV/AIDS.

He stated that women had experienced some form of gender violence in their lifetime including but not limited to partner and non-partner violence.

He stated that violence against women harmed families and communities across generations and reinforced other forms of violence prevalent in society.

Serowe assistant AIDS coordinator, Ms Masego Mabe, indicated that the sector did not execute some of its activities because of financial constraints and failure by some members to attend scheduled meetings.

She stated that the first quarter of the year elapsed without any activity they planned, but said they had requested for funds to carry out some activities in the second quarter.

She said they had planned to conduct Sunday soccer tournament bonanza where teams participating would be tested for HIV/AIDS and other related ailments as well as disseminating information on combating violence against women and girls.

Ms Mabe said the other activity was to have pot day chill-out session where men and couples would be invited for a traditional Mokoto cuisine alongside discussing love relationships and related issues. ENDS