22 Oct 2020

Men violence against women has become a common occurance in modern day Botswana, says Serowe Youth Group leader, Ms Ati Dintwa.

Speaking in a workshop organised by some young people and Ati’s family in Serowe recently, Ms Dintwa said analyses of gender-based violence indicated that men tended to prove their dominance through acts of violence.

Male dominance, she said, was created and reinforced by patriarchal beliefs and practices characterised by notions of female victimhood.

“Our first step was to sensitise both men and women on GBV because this is a public concern. It is not only a violation of human rights, but also fuels spread of diseases,” she said.

She said among forms of violence, the most common was domestic violence.

This form of abuse was not easy to report because it would be the woman’s word against that of the perpetrator and usually there was not enough evidence to prove the case, she explained.

Ms Dintwa urged attendants to make prevention of gender based violence a community effort and report all forms of violence they witnessed.

Ms Peoyame Tladi from department of gender affairs indicated that most men were short tempered, hence rushing to make conclusions.

She said rape cases were a concern and that an increase of sexual abuse cases involving children was cause for concern in Serowe and surrounding villages,

She said defilement cases, rape and sexual abuse were a concern to government, hence the amendment of the Penal Code on defilement to increase the age of consent from 16 years to 18.

Ms Tladi said Serowe and surrounding settlements continued to record highest rape cases on a yearly basis, adding that rape dehumanise pe.

She said in most cases, people who defiled minors were known to the victims’ parents, who never reported such cases.

She said the girl child was vulnerable and needed the protection of parents, including men who neglected their duties and sexually abused children.

Ms Tladi underscored the need to address GBV cases as soon as they occurred instead of letting them spiral out of control.

Furthermore, she stated that emotional abuse was the most destructive type of violence because it had potential to leave scars that could last longer.

She urged women to develop survival strategies against sexual abuse. ENDS