06 Dec 2020

Botswana Police Services (BPS) continues to capacitate its personnel by enhancing their competencies and professionalism to deal with Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, Minister for Presidential, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Kabo Morwaeng has said.

Responding to a question in Parliament, Mr Morwaeng said the recently announced decision by BPS to come up with child-friendly police facilities to cater for victims of child abuse was testimony to police’s commitment to building capacity for dealing with GBV cases.

He said one of the child-friendly police facility was about to be complete and open for use as a pilot project at Broadhurst Police station.

Mr Morwaeng indicated that BPS training curriculum had various modules to equip officers on how to deal with different types of crime, including GBV with the in-service training on specialised skills continuing to be offered.

He said BPS was currently offering courses targeting police post commanders and other ranks adding that 700 police officers were expected to have been covered by end of this month.

Mr Morwaeng stated from 2017 to 2019, BPS dealt with 559 murder cases, 2 377 defilements, 1 020 threat to kill cases and 6 403 rape cases.

He said there were five safe houses in the country, with 24 gender-based violence victims housed at the GBV prevention and support centre in Gaborone, while 14 were housed in Francistown and eight at Women Against Rape Shelter in Maun.

He highlighted that there was no special budget set aside for capacitating police stations to be GBV victim-friendly as all cases were covered within the general police service budget.

Further, Mr Morwaeng noted that legislative measure protecting the rights of children who were compelled to be separated from their parents was in place under the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

He said the Children’s Act and the Domestic Violence Act created mechanisms for removal of children from abusive homes and other environments as well as for persecution of perpetrators of such abuse.

Orphaned children, he said may be placed with their next of kin until they become of age while those eligible for adoption may be legally adopted as a long-term measure

Mahalapye East MP, Mr Yandani Boko had asked the minister to state the number of police station capacitated to be GBV victim-friendly and the budget allocated to capacitate such police stations.

He also wanted to know the number of safe houses and that of the victims accommodated and any initiative to take care of children of GBV victims in cases where their parents die. Ends