07 Feb 2022

  Implementation of the resolutions of Bogosi Pitso held in Palapye some years ago can play a significant role in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) in villages.
Kgosi George Thwane of Artesia  told the traditional leaders during a two-day training for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gender Based Violence, which was held at Big Valley Game Lodge near Lobatse over the weekend.

The training was aimed at equipping the leaders to play a leading role in response to GBV challenge. Kgosi Thwane said, with GBV rampant at community level and also prevalent in the workplace, implementing the resolutions of Bogosi Pitso could assist to fight GBV. He said 75 per cent of cases reported to the police in Artesia since January last year were GBV related, with rape the most prevalent, followed by defilement and others.

The chief said he borrowed from resolutions of that Pitso to introduce a number of initiatives aimed at tackling GBV in Artesia and surrounding areas. Kgosi Thwane said one such initiative was introduction of the Re A Nyalana Programme which started as pilot in 2011.

“The pilot was held through mass community weddings at Bokaa village where we married 11 couples through the programme. The reason for conducting mass community weddings was to address the challenge of cohabitation, after we realised that a lot of abuse and fighting was taking place between cohabitating couples,” he said.

He said they felt that formalising those relationships into marriages could assist the couples to go through pre-marital counselling and other forms of guidance through cultural practices that precede marriage, thus reducing chances of abuse. Kgosi Thwane said 6 774 couples had benefited from the initiative as of today.
He further said they introduced a ‘One Stop Shop for GBV Management’ last year in Artesia after realising that there were a lot of GBV cases in the village and surrounding cattle posts that went unreported.

“I found it fit to form a One Stop Shop Committee for GBV management in the village which comprised of kgosi, police officer, social worker, nurse, guidance and counselling teachers and a priest. Each committee member has an input in the committee relating to their professions,” he said.

He said the committee developed an annual activity plan against GBV, and held quarterly meetings to analyse reports of GBV in the area. Kgosi Thwane said the main objective of the committee was to provide swift assistance to abuse victims, and also improve referral system and follow up of abuse victims.
He further said they had also roped in a social football club in the village to sensitise the community about GBV.
 Another speaker Ms Ntombi Setshwaelo from Gender Movement in Botswana said statistics showed that the number of women who experienced GBV in Botswana had declined from 67 per cent in 2012 to 37 per cent in 2019.

However, she expressed concern that measures to tackle GBV were happening at a slow pace when one looked at the amount of work that had been done by women since the 1980s to fight gender inequality and GBV. “The expectation was that the process could have gone quicker,” she said.

The training was attended by minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs Ms Anna Mokgethi, minister of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Mr Kabo Morwaeng, minister of Defence, Justice and Security Mr Kagiso Mmusi, minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Kgotla Autlwetse, minister of Basic Education Mr Fidelis Molao, minister of Health and Wellness Dr Edwin Dikoloti, as well as assistant minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ms Talita Monnakgotla. ENDS