Child sexual abuse a pandemic in Botswana
Teenage pregnancy in Botswana is a never-ending problem.
Year in, and year out, the cries of innocent victims as young as 10 years old are muffled by the ineffective regulatory frameworks that are meant to protect them.
Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development Naniki Makwinja shocked Parliament in December when she stated that 366 children dropped out of secondary school due to pregnancy in a year.
She said in the same period 13 dropped out of primary school, with the youngest as young as 10 years old. According to Makwinja, the Ministry is addressing issues of teenage pregnancy in schools through among others, the
Life Skills Programme under the Department of Guidance and Counselling.
“Other interventions are numerous and include Dreams – a life skills programme, Circles of Support, an early unintended pregnancy campaign comprehensive sexuality education for which so far 2682 teachers have been trained across all regions and it is being rolled out to schools,” she told Parliament.
The Ministry is also training master trainers to empower parents and learners on parent-child communication and 3065 parents have been trained.
Makwinja said children are at risk of becoming pregnant from the age of sexual maturity, which can be as young as 10 years of age. “Sadly children in primary from as young as Standard Four have been reported pregnant,” Makwinja said.
She added that the Ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Local Government and Rural Development’s Department of Social Services on issues of referral, health and social protection of learners.
“My ministry collaborates with Defence and Security on many issues including those of under-age pregnancy, sexual assault and rape,” she added.
Social Worker at Childline Botswana, Seitebatso Kegakilwe told The Midweek Sun that in Botswana one of the most disheartening issues, is the extent of sexual violation of children. "This problem calls for all of us to stand up and act," she cried.
Her conviction and expectation is that because the assistant minister reported 366 children having dropped out of school in a year, there should be an equal number of convictions.
"The same number of perpetrators should be locked up because they committed a crime," she said. But Alas! she decries the inefficiency of processes and the laisser-faire attitude by stakeholders who should be ensuring that justice is served in such cases.
"It is very painful because everyone involved especially where there is a pregnancy, knows very well that a sexual offense has been committed against a child, but such a case can be stalled by lack of evidence," she said, adding that while life goes on for the wrongdoer, it becomes unbearable for a child who has just become a parent.
She believes that more awareness of laws and other legal instruments is critical in ensuring that members of the public are sensitised. This will go a long way in not only preventing violations but also in empowering everyone to report when they witness such violations within their communities.
Kegakilwe however, applauded efforts including the introduction of Child Friendly Centres that are meant to encourage reporting of sexual violation cases against children.