26 Nov 2020

The Mayor of Francistown, Mr Godisang Radisego has called upon the nation at large to unite against Gender Based Violence (GBV) as the cases continued to grow at an alarming rate.

Speaking during the launch of 16 days of activism against gender based violence in Francistown on November 25, Mayor Radisego said that it was worrisome that yearly activisms against GBV were held and yet GBV cases were growing each year.

The theme for this year’s commemoration: Unite to End Gender Based Violence Now, he said, was more appropriate as each individual was asked to state what role they played in ending violence.

“We must look back as families and the society and question ourselves that collectively, what is it that we are doing to end violence in our communities and making sure the community at larger is safe against violence,” he added.

Mayor Radisego further said it was more worrisome that there was less participation of the public in GBV activisms due to the emergence of COVID-19, which regulates the number of people allowed in gatherings.

However, he was hopeful that those able to participate would pass the message to others to unite and deal with the root causes of GBV, adding that it did not help for the public to point fingers at the perpetrators and not take action to end GBV.

For her part, Northern Police Divisional Commander, senior assistant commissioner (SACP), Cynthia Setilo noted that societal role in curbing and preventing GBV cases was vital and would help Botswana Police Service (BPS) in withholding its preventive role against criminal cases.

Ms Setilo said that statistics during the national lockdown from April 22 to November 13 had shown that the extent to which people were violated was known by the community rather than the police. 

She further indicated that 572 GBV-related cases had been reported in her area of jurisdiction since April 22 to November 13, adding that the figures only reflected what was reported while more cases of violence went unreported.

Ms Setilo said that child victimisation had been on the rise during the period of lockdown, involving biological parents, adding that in the past such cases involved step-parents.

She also cited an increase in cases of defilement, adding that when addressing issues of GBV, the girl-child must be taught to be assertive while the boy-child should be taught to be protectors of their sisters, mothers and girls. 

She emphasised the need to prioritise GBV cases dealing with children, noting that victim friendly child centres were being prepared to cater for victimised children.

“One centre will be in Gaborone and the other will be in Francistown,” she said adding that social workers should also deal with the victims’ mental health.

Senior assistant commissioner pointed out that reports of missing children were on the rise, a clear indication that parents were not taking responsibility for their children, adding that parents should be charged for not reporting such incidents.

“I would like to applaud teachers for not hiding incidents of GBV but being proactive in reporting them to us,” she said.

For her part, the motivational speaker, Ms Mugove Ngwazai of Womens Ministries North, said there was no justification for violence hence the need to bring abuse to an end. 

“No one deserves to be killed, molested or raped no matter what they might have done,” she said adding that now was the time for zero tolerance of violence.

Ms Ngwazai  urged the public to report violence and also mobilise the young people as well as reaching out to those affected.

The objectives of the commemoration which ends on December 10, included raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the national and local level and also engaging actively with men and boys in the discourse about prevention and combatting GBV.

The 16 days of activism against GBV is also set to enhance partnerships between government, civil society, faith-based organisations, private sector and the media. Ends