Campaign to eliminate child sexual exploitation
National Children’s Council (NCC) is undertaking a campaign dubbed #Section25 in different parts of the country themed ‘Dira Sengwe: Speak. Act. Deliver’ which is expected to culminate in a national launch at a later date.
The NCC exists to facilitate better coordination of issues affecting children and provide oversight monitoring of all stakeholders across different sectors in Botswana, under the Ministry of Local Government. While the campaign is nationwide, NCC Vice Chairperson Desmond Lunga said in an interview that the campaign was birthed from sexual exploitation statistics reported post the first Covid-19 lockdown.
They first targeted areas that recorded the highest number of cases of child sexual exploitation and abuse as reported by Statistics Botswana. “We are engaging different district councils, non-governmental organisations, education, health, police, community groups on sexual abuse of children and sharing educational materials including comic books and documentaries so that they can adopt them in their messaging about awareness”, Lunga said. He said to ensure that awareness about the Children’s Act and particularly Section25 reaches communities, they have mascot characters, Rafiwa and Karabo who go a long way in communicating messages effectively to the young people. Lunga is worried that so far, in the areas that they have visited, many residents seem not to clearly know what the Children’s Act is about, further stating that while some are aware of the Act, they do not enforce it. They have also realised that in many areas in Botswana District Councils are challenged with issues of children. For example, many areas have not established children’s courts, social workers are still not efficient in dealing with children’s issues, and magistrates themselves are still not up to scratch when dealing with sensitive child cases, among others.
He realised that in Botswana, there are parents who still choose to corporate with their children’s abusers by getting into arrangements with them. “Parents of victims end up compromised because they receive groceries and money from perpetrators and therefore weaken the cases of their children”, Lunga said, adding that it is up to the people within a child’s circle of familiarity to report their knowledge or suspicion of a child’s exploitation. Section 25 of the 2009 Children’s Act of Botswana says, any parent, guardian, teacher or other person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to report a case of child abuse or exploitation of which he or she is aware shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not less than P10 000 but not more that P30 000, or to imprisonment for a term not less than two years but not more than three years, or both. Lunga explained that the theme, ‘Dira Sengwe: Speak. Act. Deliver’ addresses all stakeholders in issues of child justice. He added that it encourages children to speak out and report any abuse they suffer. He said the theme encourages all involved, teachers, parents and guardians and any other adult to act when they notice that a child might be abused. “This theme emphasises on everyone taking their part in ensuring that children are protected from abuse and they access justice”, he said, adding that should one turn a blind eye to sexual exploitation of a child or teenager, the law implicates them.