* Xere minors mum on who they sleep with
Someone or some people in Xere, a rural village in the Boteti district are sleeping with school going girls, impregnating them, and forcing them to perform backyard abortions.
The girls’ ages range from 10 to 11 years.
Xere Tribal chief Kgosi Molaodi Moipolai raised alarm, following a recent case in which a Standard 5 pupil terminated her pregnancy illegally.
Kgosi Moipolai says upon investigations, they found out that several minor girls in the small rural village get pregnant and often refuse to disclose the identity of the men responsible and end up using illegal pills to terminate the pregnancy.
Where they get the abortion pills is also a mystery.
In an interview with The Midweek Sun Kgosi Moipolai said the complications of unsafe, illegal abortions are a significant cause of maternal mortality in Botswana.
“Some young girls seek secret procedures once they discover that they are pregnant. Socio-cultural factors, not punitive laws, present the greatest barriers to young girls seeking to terminate unwanted pregnancies,” Moipolai observed.
According to Moipolai, when confronted, some would disclose that they used pills to terminate the pregnancy. Moipolai said while they do not encourage young girls to get pregnant, they should not abort when it happens, as this is not only illegal, but could also pose serious risks to their health, including death.
Abortion in Botswana is only legal if the abortion will save the mother's life and the pregnancy gravely endangers her physical or mental health, or in the case of rape or incest.
Latest statistics indicate that unintended pregnancy rate in Botswana declined by 11 percent between 1990 to 1994 and 2015 to 2019. During the same period, the abortion rate increased by 39 percent. The share of unintended
pregnancies ending in abortion rose from 21 percent to 32 percent.
Rakops Police Assistant Station Commander, Omphile Galene told The Midweek Sun that the Police in the vicinity of Xere are not aware of abortion incidents, as they have no record of them. However, he said they are concerned about defilement cases in the village.
So far there are three recorded defilement cases since the beginning of the year. Other cases remain largely unreported.
The girls’ ages range from 10 to 11 years.
Xere Tribal chief Kgosi Molaodi Moipolai raised alarm, following a recent case in which a Standard 5 pupil terminated her pregnancy illegally.
Kgosi Moipolai says upon investigations, they found out that several minor girls in the small rural village get pregnant and often refuse to disclose the identity of the men responsible and end up using illegal pills to terminate the pregnancy.
Where they get the abortion pills is also a mystery.
In an interview with The Midweek Sun Kgosi Moipolai said the complications of unsafe, illegal abortions are a significant cause of maternal mortality in Botswana.
“Some young girls seek secret procedures once they discover that they are pregnant. Socio-cultural factors, not punitive laws, present the greatest barriers to young girls seeking to terminate unwanted pregnancies,” Moipolai observed.
According to Moipolai, when confronted, some would disclose that they used pills to terminate the pregnancy. Moipolai said while they do not encourage young girls to get pregnant, they should not abort when it happens, as this is not only illegal, but could also pose serious risks to their health, including death.
Abortion in Botswana is only legal if the abortion will save the mother's life and the pregnancy gravely endangers her physical or mental health, or in the case of rape or incest.
Latest statistics indicate that unintended pregnancy rate in Botswana declined by 11 percent between 1990 to 1994 and 2015 to 2019. During the same period, the abortion rate increased by 39 percent. The share of unintended
pregnancies ending in abortion rose from 21 percent to 32 percent.
Rakops Police Assistant Station Commander, Omphile Galene told The Midweek Sun that the Police in the vicinity of Xere are not aware of abortion incidents, as they have no record of them. However, he said they are concerned about defilement cases in the village.
So far there are three recorded defilement cases since the beginning of the year. Other cases remain largely unreported.
