16 Nov 2023

The American and Botswana governments as well as civil society organisations have partnered in various ways to help communities to address gender based violence (GBV) using outreach programmes. 

Addressing the Faith Based Organisations in Gaborone on Wednesday, Ambassador Howard van Vranken said the embassy had a strategy to prevent and respond to GBV as a priority not just during the 16 days of activism but all year round. 

He also said GBV numbers were staggering and was a prevalent problem in Botswana as was in the United States.

He said GBV was a complex issue adding that for leaders like the President and the First Lady to be willing to talk about it in honest ways, was a first step to fighting the scourge. 

Ambassador van Vranken further said it was one of the priorities of the Embassy to find ways that could help the situation, part of which was training. 

He said mindset change was key in fighting GBV and that addressing the problem was to be a Botswana led effort. 

One of the speakers, Senior Gender Officer in the Gender Affairs Department, Mr Budani Madandume said eliminating GBV was not only an issue of rights but spoke to access to justice.

He said addressing GBV was an accelerator to a broader development agenda Botswana was pursuing. 

Mr Madandume said violence to women was a major barrier to fulfillment of human rights and a direct challenge to women inclusion and participation in sustainable development. 

He said despite all advances in human rights around the world, violence against women and girls was still one of the most pervasive human rights violations. 

He said it occurred in spaces where they were supposed to be safe; homes and schools. He further said globally, it was indicated that one in three women had experienced violence in their lifetime. 

Mr Madandume said over 35 per cent  of women had experienced either intimate sexual or non-sexual partner violence in their lifetime. 

He said 38 per cent of the murders were committed by intimate partners. 

He said the 2012 GBV study indicated that 67 per cent of women in Botswana had experienced some form of violence in their lifetime. 

Mr Madandume noted that  even men experienced violence at some point in their lifetime. 

He further said 44 per cent of men had admitted having committed some form of GBV in their lifetime. 

He said the 2018 study indicated that the type of GBV meted on women differed from the one that men experienced.

 He said while men were perpetrators against men, women and boys, men experienced violence perpetrated by other men. 

Mr Madandume said 14 per cent of the parents perpetrated violence against children in the community who assumed that they were disciplining them.

He said the three leading perpetrators of violence against males were their peers and their fathers. 

He said the Botswana Police Service had established the Gender and Child Protection Unit to combat the escalating GBV prevalence. Since the establishment of the branch, there has been an increase in reporting of the cases. 

He said 24 434 cases were prosecuted in 2021 while some were withdrawn by either survivors or due to lack of evidence. 

He said consequences of GBV were life-long. 

He said survivors of rape go through trauma because some were left with STIs such as HIV, unwanted pregnancies and cases may never be reported in areas where services were limited. 

Mr Madandume said homicides were committed by spouses which caused  trauma on children. 

He said GBV needed multifaceted efforts, adding that without concerted efforts and intervention of stakeholders, it was likely to recur. 

He said the church was a critical stakeholder in the fight against GBV and needed to reach out to members to transform the entire country. ENDS