23 Oct 2023

Attaining gender equality calls for concerted efforts of communities and stakeholders to address and mitigate gender-related crimes.

Officially closing a three day Botswana Police mainstreaming workshop on October 21, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr Harrison Digobe said there was a need for all organisations and entities, including the Botswana Police Service (BPS) to assess and monitor the implementation of gender mainstreaming, and establish appropriate accountability mechanisms.

He said gender-based violence (GVB) was still a scourge impeding women and children from attaining a levelled ground, hence it was only through a multi-stakeholder model a holistic with coordinated approach that also facilitated a seamless referrals that GVB could be addressed.

“This essentially means that there should be a change in attitudes towards gender equality as well as establishment of concrete methods to integrate equal and equitable gender representation into organisations, so that employees know what tools to use to account for gender representation daily, in the workplace,” he said.

Mr Digobe said the gender mainstreaming workshop was organised to sensitize officers on gender equality in the workplace as highlighted by international conventions ratified by Botswana such as the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Beijing Platform for Action, as well as progress made so far by Botswana.

He said it also focused on various initiatives taken by BPS to integrate gender issues into the organisation as well as action by various policing organs.

The goal, he said, was to transfer skills to officers to consider the needs of members of the community, thereby improving gender sensitive policing.

He further said the workshop would help create a holistic system that would fully protect victims, thus bringing the police one step closer to achieving justice for all, adding that the gesture talked to BPS mandate of ensuring the safety and security of the public.

Mr Digole urged trainees to go out to apply and share with colleagues what they learnt during the workshop to broaden gender understanding and ensure improvement on gender sensitive policing.

A trainee, Superintendent Diane Lentigetse said the workshop enhanced participant’s knowledge on the gender mainstreaming aspects of ensuring equity between both men and women.

She said attendees in coordination with other support services and the community would now be able to implement, advance gender equality and integrate a gender perspective policing; ensuring that crime was dealt with seriously and people treated with respect regardless of gender.

Supt Lentigetse urged her colleagues to be role models in their communities, change societal expectations about gender by conducting public awareness and challenging stereotypes on gender issues. ENDS