Church steps in to mould the men against GBV

 

FIGHTING GBV: The church laments that men and boys are often left out of empowerment conversations that often target women

Botswana continues to experience high incidents of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and associated loss of life, which are mostly perpetuated by men against women and children. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and Security, Brigadier Tebo Dikole lamented that this happens despite various interventions in place from government and civil society organisations.

He was speaking last week at the Men’s Convention convened by In-Christ Bible Institute University under the theme, ‘His Heart, His Life, His God’.

Men were urged to adopt a positive attitude and treat women and children with the outmost respect that they deserve.

According to Dikole, to fight social ills in communities, mindset plays a significant role in attaining success or failure. He said that a person's mindset is a set of beliefs that determine how one makes sense of the world and oneself.

“Our mindset influences how we think, feel and behave. Successful changes in the security sector will only happen when people make individual changes”, Dikole said.

Dikole highlighted that as a ministry, they value the church as a critical partner in promoting the right mindset for peace-building and moral or spiritual upliftment.

He said applying mindset change can help ensure a zero-tolerance’ stance towards social ills such as GBV, child abuse and use of elicit drugs.

Founder and Chancellor for In-Christ Bible Institute University, Dr Malebogo Rathedi said that the boy child is often left behind when issues such as GBV are addressed hence the need to mould a new man.

She noted that a church plays a pivotal role in ensuring that Christian men pride themselves with a positive character to become role models for the young ones.

“Representation of girls and children is very powerful as every child’s right is to be protected,” she said, further challenging faith leaders and institutions to work together in upholding the rights of children and women from any forms of violence.

She highlighted that faith leaders are trusted partners and a strong voice in their communities in addressing the root causes of GBV, deepening their commitment to mobilise and engage.