26 Nov 2023

International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) Alumni Impact awardee, Ms Lorato Mphusu says concerted efforts within the community to mitigate ever rising cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country is vital,

She said this at the men’s meeting at Kanye main Kgotla in a build up to the 16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls.

Ms Mphusu said she intends to uproot causes of GBV through IVLP, a US Department of State’s premier professional exchange programme, where every year, US Embassies nominate current and emerging leaders from all over the world to participate in the IVLP exchanges.

As Botswana Christian Aids Intervention Programme Chief Executive Officer, she saw the need to partner with faith based leaders in addressing challenges faced by communities, and offer counselling on GBV.

Held under the theme, equipping faith based organisations to effectively address the root causes of GBV in Botswana, she shared that currently they trained 17 faith based leaders on GBV to help in addressing GBV within their communities.

Ms Mphusu implored the community and stakeholders to engage with capacitated leaders to help them address challenges of GBV within the community.

She emphasised the importance of stakeholder collaboration, adding that just one entity of either just police, dikgosi, political or faith based leaders would not manage alone.

Also, she said GBV, a prevalent issue among youth and women, has seen Botswana rated among leading countries and men cited as main culprits.

“Statistics indicate that seven out of 10 women are being abused, therefore that means most women in our country are heartbroken,” she said.

Ms Mphusu shared that such alarming statistics underscored the pressing need for multifaceted interventions to address some of the challenges.

She said it was imperative for men to step up reporting GBV incidents, combating entrenched gender norms and supporting environment.

“We need men to break the stigma surrounding seeking help and contributing to the fight against GBV,” he said.

For his part, Naledi Baptist Pastor, Kealeboga Jobe shared that GBV was rampant in the country, adding that joint efforts were critical to stop the scourge.

As faith based team, he said they had been engaged to assist in addressing GBV issues in Kanye.

Pastor Jobe pleaded with those being violated to come unto the open and further urged perpetrators to also come out so that they may be assisted.

“As pastors, we have previously been able to address the HIV/AIDS scourge, given a chance, we will certainly be able to address even GBV,” he said.

Deputy Paramount Chief of Bangwaketse, Kgosi Kebapetse Telekelo implored men to change their way of doing things, adding that he was concerned about the way men were attributed to being causes of GBV.

He decried the absence of youth in attending kgotla meetings, adding that there was need for them to familiarise themselves with the kgotla meetings and also the kgotla set-up.

Kgosi Telekelo appealed for more engagement with Men’s Sector, adding that the organization needed to be more accessible and engage Dikgosi to help deliver the message. ENDS