Feminist Alliance Botswana (FAB) and the GBV SOS Lobby Group say President Advocate Duma Boko’s utterances last week during the Cabinet Orientation – the nation’s senior decision-making body - missed a critical opportunity to align policy and budget discussions with actionable strategies for combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
FAB is an open, voluntary intersectional feminist grouping who believe and advocate for the right of all women to thrive in all areas of their lives, economic, social, health, education, and political among others.
They also advocate for all women to enjoy and live in environments free from all forms of sexual harassment and violence. GBV SOS Lobby Group on the other hand is a group of volunteers from diverse backgrounds committed to addressing the urgent crisis of GBV in Botswana.
The two groups are not happy that the President questioned why the term “GBV” is used as a subset of violence as opposed to simply referring to the assaults, murders, rapes, cat calling, online violence and deaths of women and young girls, as acts of violence.
In an open letter to the President, the Alliance stated that the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) defines violence as “The intentional or unintentional use of force, whether physical or psychological, threatened or actual, against an individual, oneself or against a group of people, a community or a government.
“Violence can either be targeted or indiscriminate, motivated by certain aims, including political, religious, social, economic, ethnic, racial, or gender-based, or unintentional and can be initiated with the aim to directly or indirectly inflict harm, injury or death.”
They further added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) further categorises violence as self-directed, interpersonal and collective. "These definitions clarify that while violence can be motivated by gender, GBV, specifically refers to acts of violence committed because of a person’s sex or gender.”
The Alliance says GBV is not just a general act of violence, but it is rooted in systematic inequalities and power dynamics that disproportionately impact women, children and marginalised groups while reinforcing and protecting gendered systems of oppression.
Further, that GBV is defined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Model Law on GBV as “A harmful act directed at an individual or a group of individuals, based on their gender, gender norms and unequal power relationships, which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, verbal, psychological, emotional or economic harm, including coercion, the threat to take such acts or to undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on, or deprivation of fundamental rights and freedoms in a private or public life, in peace time or during situations of armed or other forms of conflict.”
According to the Feminist Alliance, this definition encompasses domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment and assault, femicide, harmful cultural practices, among other acts. It also highlights the comprehensive framework needed to address the multifaceted nature of GBV.
“Your party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) makes specific commitments o combat GBV in its manifesto, further acknowledging GBV as a significant national issues and committing to creating a safer Botswana through policies and systems aimed at prevention protection and justice for survivors.”
The Alliance further said many service providers, including Police officers, nurses, doctors, magistrates and lawyers do not consistently adhere to established guidelines for supporting survivors of GBV.
They believe that the Cabinet Orientation could have been used to emphasise legislative reforms, responses mechanisms, and budget allocations necessary to address GBV effectively.
“Instead, it risked undermining the urgency of GBV as a national priority, which we believe should be deemed a state of emergency.”
“We are concerned by remarks suggesting that ministers are being scapegoated for GBV. In a democracy, public accountability is not scapegoating, it is a duty. Citizens have the right to question and evaluate government actions, particularly in crises such as the GBV epidemic,” Feminist Alliance asserted, adding that leaders should utilize their platforms responsibly, elevating the conversation around GBV and promoting meaningful change.
At the Cabinet Orientation, President Boko had repeated the question he posed in Parliament, stating, “why do we call it GBV, when does it assume the nature of GBV? Why not just violence,” he asked, adding that it is high time that the nation admits, “We are a violent nation.”
FAB is an open, voluntary intersectional feminist grouping who believe and advocate for the right of all women to thrive in all areas of their lives, economic, social, health, education, and political among others.
They also advocate for all women to enjoy and live in environments free from all forms of sexual harassment and violence. GBV SOS Lobby Group on the other hand is a group of volunteers from diverse backgrounds committed to addressing the urgent crisis of GBV in Botswana.
The two groups are not happy that the President questioned why the term “GBV” is used as a subset of violence as opposed to simply referring to the assaults, murders, rapes, cat calling, online violence and deaths of women and young girls, as acts of violence.
In an open letter to the President, the Alliance stated that the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) defines violence as “The intentional or unintentional use of force, whether physical or psychological, threatened or actual, against an individual, oneself or against a group of people, a community or a government.
“Violence can either be targeted or indiscriminate, motivated by certain aims, including political, religious, social, economic, ethnic, racial, or gender-based, or unintentional and can be initiated with the aim to directly or indirectly inflict harm, injury or death.”
They further added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) further categorises violence as self-directed, interpersonal and collective. "These definitions clarify that while violence can be motivated by gender, GBV, specifically refers to acts of violence committed because of a person’s sex or gender.”
The Alliance says GBV is not just a general act of violence, but it is rooted in systematic inequalities and power dynamics that disproportionately impact women, children and marginalised groups while reinforcing and protecting gendered systems of oppression.
Further, that GBV is defined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Model Law on GBV as “A harmful act directed at an individual or a group of individuals, based on their gender, gender norms and unequal power relationships, which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, verbal, psychological, emotional or economic harm, including coercion, the threat to take such acts or to undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on, or deprivation of fundamental rights and freedoms in a private or public life, in peace time or during situations of armed or other forms of conflict.”
According to the Feminist Alliance, this definition encompasses domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment and assault, femicide, harmful cultural practices, among other acts. It also highlights the comprehensive framework needed to address the multifaceted nature of GBV.
“Your party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) makes specific commitments o combat GBV in its manifesto, further acknowledging GBV as a significant national issues and committing to creating a safer Botswana through policies and systems aimed at prevention protection and justice for survivors.”
The Alliance further said many service providers, including Police officers, nurses, doctors, magistrates and lawyers do not consistently adhere to established guidelines for supporting survivors of GBV.
They believe that the Cabinet Orientation could have been used to emphasise legislative reforms, responses mechanisms, and budget allocations necessary to address GBV effectively.
“Instead, it risked undermining the urgency of GBV as a national priority, which we believe should be deemed a state of emergency.”
“We are concerned by remarks suggesting that ministers are being scapegoated for GBV. In a democracy, public accountability is not scapegoating, it is a duty. Citizens have the right to question and evaluate government actions, particularly in crises such as the GBV epidemic,” Feminist Alliance asserted, adding that leaders should utilize their platforms responsibly, elevating the conversation around GBV and promoting meaningful change.
At the Cabinet Orientation, President Boko had repeated the question he posed in Parliament, stating, “why do we call it GBV, when does it assume the nature of GBV? Why not just violence,” he asked, adding that it is high time that the nation admits, “We are a violent nation.”
