- As Police record alarming stats over festive season - Advocates for GBV Act
Feminist Alliance Botswana (FAB) is deeply troubled and outraged by the harrowing statistics released by Botswana Police Services, revealing that 60 women and girls were raped, 19 murdered and 13 defiled from December 19, 2024 to January 2, 2025.
FAB is an open, voluntary intersectional feminist grouping that believes and advocates for the right of all women to thrive in all areas of their lives. They also advocate for all women to enjoy and live in environments free from all forms of sexual harassment and violence.
The Alliance believes that these figures represent a grim reminder of the pervasive violence that women and girls continue to face.
“This is not just a statistic, it is a reflection of lives lost, futures stolen and communities broken. These numbers underscore a profound failure in protecting women and girls from violence, despite repeated calls for systemic reforms and stronger preventive measures,” the Alliance Communications Team said in an interview.
Speaking to Botswana Guardian, they demanded immediate action including; stronger law enforcement and accountability. “We call on the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services and the Botswana Police Service to prioritise cases of GBV, ensuring timely investigations, prosecutions and convictions for perpetrators."
Their view is that Gender and Child protection branches at the Police Stations are few (reported to only be eight countrywide).
“Unfortunately given the limited access to information regarding their targeted key performance output, measured against the actual statistics - number of cases reported to them, completed investigations, cases at prosecution stage, among other things - it makes it difficult to speak to their successes, failings or challenges”.
Secondly, they are calling for a Comprehensive National GBV Framework. They demand that the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs produce a robust and actionable national framework to prevent GBV, one that includes measurable targets and accountability mechanisms.
While government has enacted several laws in an effort to prioritise GBV cases, the Alliance Communications team believes that slow investigation, prosecution and conviction process in the judicial system exposes survivors to further violence and as a result the desired effect that the laws act as a deterrent loses effect.
“It is estimated that it takes on average about five years for the judicial process to be completed. This results in a lot of perpetrators released on bail and posing further dangers to survivors. Investigations and prosecutions should be carried out in the shortest possible time.”
Furthermore, the Feminist Alliance says it is evident from the 2018 Botswana National Relationship Study that less than five percent of the reported and prosecuted cases result in conviction.
“If laws are meant to act as a deterrent, the low conviction rate, duration of completing the case from the time it is reported, investigated, prosecuted and judgment issued; the resultant effect is that the desired deterrence is lost.”
Further, they note that actions which are considered GBV are criminalised in many different pieces of legislation due to the absence of a comprehensive GBV Act.
“This results in lack of awareness of some provisions, inconsistent application of the same provisions by the law enforcement agencies that ought to be applying these laws as a safety net / legal recourse for victims.”
There is a need therefore for a piece of legislation that consolidates all GBV crime under one Act.
“We have heard the Minister of Youth and Gender alluding to this piece of legislation as being in the pipeline and hope that before the end of the year it will be brought to life.”
The Feminist Alliance’s view is that in drafting the GBV Act, the powers that be should include the public in the process.
“We believe that their lived experiences can inform the development of this legislation, and ensure continued awareness of existing legislation. A holistic model can integrate insights from individuals, organisations, policies, and legal frameworks to understand the prevalence of SGBV.”
Further, that for effective preventive and deterrent measures, there is need to include a rehabilitative component to the sentencing of perpetrators providing them with compulsory psychosocial rehabilitation and ensuring that breach of it results in more punitive sentencing.
FAB insists on National Prevention Campaigns that are effective. “There must be coordinated public education campaigns to address the root causes of GBV, including toxic masculinity, cultural norms and systemic inequalities.”
FAB also emphasises the need for better comprehensive support for survivors. They believe that survivors of GBV require access to accessible and well-resourced crisis centres, psychosocial support and legal assistance to ensure they can rebuild their lives with dignity.
“We need dedicated funding for both CSOs and state agencies responsible for supporting survivors, with allocations clearly provisioned in the National Budget”.
The Alliance calls for more shelters supported by state funds - currently Botswana has two shelters.
“For a country as large in terms of population and spatial size, in addition given our high SGBV statistics - we are known as the rape capital of the world per capita, we have learned that these two shelters are not sufficient to address this issue.”
They believe that the state needs to take more leadership on this issue. Examples of this include government run and funded shelters and a ‘one-stop shop’ on SGBV. One clinic can be piloted as a one-stop shop and be responsible for coordinating all forms of support for SGBV survivors including ensuring access to legal support, medical support, among others.
An earmarked percentage of the public budget needs to be made available across all sectors of the SGBV infrastructure, including state and civil society infrastructure; additional personnel (legal, psychosocial), shelters, food and other basic needs.
Survivors of gender-based violence require access to accessible and well-resourced crisis centres, psychosocial support, and legal assistance to ensure they can rebuild their lives with dignity.
“We need dedicated funding for both CSOs and state agencies responsible for supporting survivors, with allocations clearly provisioned in the National Budget.”
They also call on the government, civil society organisations, the private sector and every citizen to join forces in combating GBV.
“We cannot stand by as women and girls in our communities when we are subjected to such atrocities. Change requires collective action, and it starts with every one of us acknowledging the gravity of the pandemic,” they said, adding these statistics refer to those that were reported and many, particularly vulnerable people, like people in the LGBTQI+ community, people living with disability and other minority groups, are likely to not have reported.
In their view, a comprehensive national GBV framework is one that includes measurable targets and accountability mechanisms.
“There must be coordinated public education campaigns to address the root causes of gender-based violence, including toxic masculinity, cultural and religious norms, and systemic inequalities. A concerted effort to shift public norms and values and a contribution to shifting the narrative on the SGBV is urgent.”
The Alliance further says SGBV is a systemic issue perpetuated by patriarchal norms, therefore it is imperative to: Increase the visibility of the multiple ways in which SGBV manifests and frame SGBV not as a private and intimate affair but a public interest issue that requires both preventative and retributionary efforts by the government.
A shared working definition of SGBV will be key to developing an education campaign. They also believe that shifting the framing of SGBV should also centre the role of men in being the primary perpetrators of SGBV, the impact of male violence on women and children as well as other men, and shifting the responsibility to address SGBV to men as the main perpetrators of the most visible forms of SGBV.
SGBV requires consistent monitoring and this means that dedicated funding and state infrastructure to produce periodic reports on all forms of SGBV, and provide disaggregated data to inform policy and legislative reform and implementation.
This data will help support the state and service providers to gain deeper insights into the impact of their current interventions, highlight the shifting and compounding affectors leading to SGBV, support them to identify vulnerable and marginalised populations and create targeted interventions.
There is a need for a policy and legal framework to support, promote and protect SGBV human rights defenders and frontline defenders. Human rights defenders and frontline workers are often the targets of violence, intimidation and surveillance by the perpetrators of SGBV as a strategy to undermine their efforts to support survivors of SGBV.
They believe that a multi-layered approach, such as in the case of Botswana’s response to the HIV pandemic, is urgent. This would include: • Implementing a cross-sectional response that includes the collective leadership of CSOs, religious and traditional leaders, home and community based volunteers.
• A central office to address SGBV and monitor the implementation of multi-pronged approaches.
• Introduction of a curriculum to teach children on issues of consent, bodily autonomy, undoing the harms of patriarchal teachings and on the SGBV legal framework.
• Community-based protection models and practices that may include community paralegal services
“However, it is important to note that a comprehensive framework is effective when based on a comprehensive piece of legislation. Examples of this include the SADC Model Law on Gender Based Violence. This law can be tailored to the Botswana context.”
FAB is an open, voluntary intersectional feminist grouping that believes and advocates for the right of all women to thrive in all areas of their lives. They also advocate for all women to enjoy and live in environments free from all forms of sexual harassment and violence.
The Alliance believes that these figures represent a grim reminder of the pervasive violence that women and girls continue to face.
“This is not just a statistic, it is a reflection of lives lost, futures stolen and communities broken. These numbers underscore a profound failure in protecting women and girls from violence, despite repeated calls for systemic reforms and stronger preventive measures,” the Alliance Communications Team said in an interview.
Speaking to Botswana Guardian, they demanded immediate action including; stronger law enforcement and accountability. “We call on the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services and the Botswana Police Service to prioritise cases of GBV, ensuring timely investigations, prosecutions and convictions for perpetrators."
Their view is that Gender and Child protection branches at the Police Stations are few (reported to only be eight countrywide).
“Unfortunately given the limited access to information regarding their targeted key performance output, measured against the actual statistics - number of cases reported to them, completed investigations, cases at prosecution stage, among other things - it makes it difficult to speak to their successes, failings or challenges”.
Secondly, they are calling for a Comprehensive National GBV Framework. They demand that the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs produce a robust and actionable national framework to prevent GBV, one that includes measurable targets and accountability mechanisms.
While government has enacted several laws in an effort to prioritise GBV cases, the Alliance Communications team believes that slow investigation, prosecution and conviction process in the judicial system exposes survivors to further violence and as a result the desired effect that the laws act as a deterrent loses effect.
“It is estimated that it takes on average about five years for the judicial process to be completed. This results in a lot of perpetrators released on bail and posing further dangers to survivors. Investigations and prosecutions should be carried out in the shortest possible time.”
Furthermore, the Feminist Alliance says it is evident from the 2018 Botswana National Relationship Study that less than five percent of the reported and prosecuted cases result in conviction.
“If laws are meant to act as a deterrent, the low conviction rate, duration of completing the case from the time it is reported, investigated, prosecuted and judgment issued; the resultant effect is that the desired deterrence is lost.”
Further, they note that actions which are considered GBV are criminalised in many different pieces of legislation due to the absence of a comprehensive GBV Act.
“This results in lack of awareness of some provisions, inconsistent application of the same provisions by the law enforcement agencies that ought to be applying these laws as a safety net / legal recourse for victims.”
There is a need therefore for a piece of legislation that consolidates all GBV crime under one Act.
“We have heard the Minister of Youth and Gender alluding to this piece of legislation as being in the pipeline and hope that before the end of the year it will be brought to life.”
The Feminist Alliance’s view is that in drafting the GBV Act, the powers that be should include the public in the process.
“We believe that their lived experiences can inform the development of this legislation, and ensure continued awareness of existing legislation. A holistic model can integrate insights from individuals, organisations, policies, and legal frameworks to understand the prevalence of SGBV.”
Further, that for effective preventive and deterrent measures, there is need to include a rehabilitative component to the sentencing of perpetrators providing them with compulsory psychosocial rehabilitation and ensuring that breach of it results in more punitive sentencing.
FAB insists on National Prevention Campaigns that are effective. “There must be coordinated public education campaigns to address the root causes of GBV, including toxic masculinity, cultural norms and systemic inequalities.”
FAB also emphasises the need for better comprehensive support for survivors. They believe that survivors of GBV require access to accessible and well-resourced crisis centres, psychosocial support and legal assistance to ensure they can rebuild their lives with dignity.
“We need dedicated funding for both CSOs and state agencies responsible for supporting survivors, with allocations clearly provisioned in the National Budget”.
The Alliance calls for more shelters supported by state funds - currently Botswana has two shelters.
“For a country as large in terms of population and spatial size, in addition given our high SGBV statistics - we are known as the rape capital of the world per capita, we have learned that these two shelters are not sufficient to address this issue.”
They believe that the state needs to take more leadership on this issue. Examples of this include government run and funded shelters and a ‘one-stop shop’ on SGBV. One clinic can be piloted as a one-stop shop and be responsible for coordinating all forms of support for SGBV survivors including ensuring access to legal support, medical support, among others.
An earmarked percentage of the public budget needs to be made available across all sectors of the SGBV infrastructure, including state and civil society infrastructure; additional personnel (legal, psychosocial), shelters, food and other basic needs.
Survivors of gender-based violence require access to accessible and well-resourced crisis centres, psychosocial support, and legal assistance to ensure they can rebuild their lives with dignity.
“We need dedicated funding for both CSOs and state agencies responsible for supporting survivors, with allocations clearly provisioned in the National Budget.”
They also call on the government, civil society organisations, the private sector and every citizen to join forces in combating GBV.
“We cannot stand by as women and girls in our communities when we are subjected to such atrocities. Change requires collective action, and it starts with every one of us acknowledging the gravity of the pandemic,” they said, adding these statistics refer to those that were reported and many, particularly vulnerable people, like people in the LGBTQI+ community, people living with disability and other minority groups, are likely to not have reported.
In their view, a comprehensive national GBV framework is one that includes measurable targets and accountability mechanisms.
“There must be coordinated public education campaigns to address the root causes of gender-based violence, including toxic masculinity, cultural and religious norms, and systemic inequalities. A concerted effort to shift public norms and values and a contribution to shifting the narrative on the SGBV is urgent.”
The Alliance further says SGBV is a systemic issue perpetuated by patriarchal norms, therefore it is imperative to: Increase the visibility of the multiple ways in which SGBV manifests and frame SGBV not as a private and intimate affair but a public interest issue that requires both preventative and retributionary efforts by the government.
A shared working definition of SGBV will be key to developing an education campaign. They also believe that shifting the framing of SGBV should also centre the role of men in being the primary perpetrators of SGBV, the impact of male violence on women and children as well as other men, and shifting the responsibility to address SGBV to men as the main perpetrators of the most visible forms of SGBV.
SGBV requires consistent monitoring and this means that dedicated funding and state infrastructure to produce periodic reports on all forms of SGBV, and provide disaggregated data to inform policy and legislative reform and implementation.
This data will help support the state and service providers to gain deeper insights into the impact of their current interventions, highlight the shifting and compounding affectors leading to SGBV, support them to identify vulnerable and marginalised populations and create targeted interventions.
There is a need for a policy and legal framework to support, promote and protect SGBV human rights defenders and frontline defenders. Human rights defenders and frontline workers are often the targets of violence, intimidation and surveillance by the perpetrators of SGBV as a strategy to undermine their efforts to support survivors of SGBV.
They believe that a multi-layered approach, such as in the case of Botswana’s response to the HIV pandemic, is urgent. This would include: • Implementing a cross-sectional response that includes the collective leadership of CSOs, religious and traditional leaders, home and community based volunteers.
• A central office to address SGBV and monitor the implementation of multi-pronged approaches.
• Introduction of a curriculum to teach children on issues of consent, bodily autonomy, undoing the harms of patriarchal teachings and on the SGBV legal framework.
• Community-based protection models and practices that may include community paralegal services
“However, it is important to note that a comprehensive framework is effective when based on a comprehensive piece of legislation. Examples of this include the SADC Model Law on Gender Based Violence. This law can be tailored to the Botswana context.”