16 Jul 2020

Police have implored parents and guardians to raise children in a manner that would mold them into responsible future generation.

Addressing a North East District full council meeting in Masunga on July 15, divisional commander north, Senior Assistant Commissioner Cynthia Setilo said upbringing was key to a child’s future.

Ms Setilo said conflict resolution and socialisation played a role in  children’s lives because those raised in abusive homes could adopt such behaviour when they grew up.

She indicated that gender based violence cycle should be broken from the root, hence a call for parents to stop inflicting pain on others as a means of solving conflict.  

She said effects of GBV could remain with victims for a lifetime and pass from one generation to another, adding that ‘studies show that children who have witnessed or been subjected violence are more likely to become victims or abusers themselves.’

Again, she indicated that GBV was high in Botswana resulting in the country being ranked number two in the world in GBV occurrences.

She regretted that some GBV cases were unreported due to fear of stigmatisation from society while in some instances victims withdrew cases to protect their abusers.

She said the police were empowered by the law to assist GBV victims by investigating claims and arresting perpetrators.

However, she said police were faced with challenges in their efforts to protect those affected because some cases of rape, incest and defilement were also not reported.

“Some witnesses do not want to testify in courts and there is lack of temporary shelter to keep victims which in some cases leads to them having to face their abusers,” she said.

Furthermore, she said dependency rate was also high and this contributed to GBV because perpetrators inflicted pain on their victims knowing that the latter would not report the crime with fear of losing their food card.

As such, she encouraged civil societies to promote a culture of equality between men and women through institutional, education and raising awareness against GBV.

Ms Setilo informed the council that six cases of defilement were registered between April and June as well as seven between January and March in the North Division.

On rape cases, she said nine were recorded from April to June and 10 between January and March while one case of incest registered in April and June while the preceding quarter had no such case.

Meanwhile, she also regretted a high number of cases of alcohol and tobacco smuggling that were reported along the borderline where goods were smuggled into and from Zimbabwe through ungazzetted points of entry.

As a result, she said seven Special Support Group (SSG) camps were established from Maitengwe to Matopi villages to curb incidents of cross border crimes as well as maintain consistent and permanent border patrols.

She also expressed concern about illegal migrants across the North East District extending to Francistown and surrounding areas.

She said a total of 5 790 illegal migrants were arrested between January and March and 1 100 between April and June this year. She attributed the decline in the number of illegal immigrants to movement restrictions during the lockdown period. ENDS