20 Mar 2014

Botswana Police Service divisional commander north, Senior Assistant Commissioner Diana Marathe has applauded male officers for the moral support they give to their female colleagues within the service.

Speaking at the Botswana Police Women Network Empowerment workshop held at The Rock Christian Church on Wednesday, March 19, Ms Marathe said women were a major human resource investment in society.

She said women presence within the police service was low in the 1970s and it had now improved as many women now held higher positions within the service and thus implored women police officers to lead with integrity and passion.

“Women are as much capable to hold any positions that are held by men in the police service”, she said.  The senior assistant police commissioner also encouraged women to continue to impact positively in the growth of the country.

Furthermore, Ms Marathe said women in the police service faced life challenges just like any other women in society, hence encouraged them to feel free to seek counseling should they need through social workers, especially with regard to issues of domestic violence. She said women police officers were often reluctant to report cases of abuse due to fear of public stigma.

Assistant Superintendent Diane Lentigetse of Tonota police station said that they faced numerous challenges as women and suggested that they should establish counseling facilities within the police stations or rather introduce counseling as an additional subject to be taught at the Botswana Police College.

For her part, Ms Nomsa Makabe, social worker at Nyangagwe Referral Hospital also stressed that women within the police service also faced challenges and were also vulnerable.

She said that women police officers usually do not come for counseling on issues that were affecting them as evidenced by the low numbers that visit their offices.

Ms Makabe said that on issues involving domestic violence, women police officers should seek help before the abuse escalates and eventually leads to undesirables such as passion killings.Ends