10 Dec 2020

There is a direct link between substance abuse in schools and gender- based violence (GBV) as learners  involved in bullying are either perpetrators or victims of bullying.

The Botswana Police Service deputy commissioner - operations, Ms Dinah Marathe said this during a GBV dialogue, which targeted secondary school male pupils in Gaborone on Tuesday. The forum was convened by the Botswana Police Service (BPS) as one of their numerous activities with a view to strengthening its responsiveness to GBV issues.

Ms Marathe said the initiative, which targeted the youth, was conducted against the backdrop of increasing reports of GBV perpetrated against women and children amid COVID-19 challenges, adding that the schools had not been sparred from such incidents.

She pointed out that the boy child was both a potential victim and perpetrator of GBV, noting that GBV consequences included loss of self-esteem, depression, poor academic attainment and even death in some cases.

Ms Marathe said the use of drugs such as dagga and alcohol in schools was linked to gang related violence and teenage pregnancies.

“I therefore call upon students and everyone in attendance to thoroughly introspect with a view to becoming change agents, positive influencers to their peers, with the ultimate intention of maturing into responsible law abiding adults.” Ms Marathe said BPS perceived the youth to be critical role players in the pursuance of its mandate of crime prevention.

The deputy police commissioner said their engagement with schools was aimed at coming up with solutions to curb the social ills and influence change at the adolescent stage, adding that their immediate responsibility was to ensure that all cases of GBV were reported.

She said the boy child must understand and appreciate that their role in society was to protect and nurture, lead, guide and not to destroy, harm or hurt.

Ms Marathe highlighted that boys should know that they were ambassadors of their schools.

During the dialogue, some youth were of the view that for GBV to end, parents should stop defending their children when they had done something wrong.

They also said parents should provide a safe environment for their children and advocated for the re-introduction of corporal punishment.

For his part, Mr Marumoagae Bonang from the Ministry of Basic Education said ending GBV should be the social responsibility of all individuals. Ends