Denim Day amplifies antirape campaign
Doors of the Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre ( BGBVC) are open to all victims and survivors of sexual violence and GBV, with or without a police report, says Valentine Bathusi, Community Mobilization Officer, an outreach Programme for the centre.
Bathusi was speaking at the Botswana commemoration of the Denim Day, organised by Lucara Botswana on Wednesday this week. At the same event, Lucara Botswana donated 4000 sanitary padss to the Mogoditshane Constituency office.
“You do not need a police report to access any of our clinical services or any other service that we offer. We should be your one stop service where after an incident you rush to the BGBVC. We will not demand a police report,” said Bathusi.
She said that sadly, Bo
tswana is the leading country with the highest number of rape rates per 100 000. The country was ranked 92.93 percent by the World Population Review Rape Statistics by country in 2021. The numbers, she said do not include numbers that go unreported, and those that are not talked about.
“This means that there are cases that never reached police stations, or were talked about,” she said. She further stated that individuals needed to ask themselves what they are currently doing, and what impact they have on the rising numbers.
“Am I the perpetrator, or you encourage rape by not talking about it, or shut down those who come to you telling you that they have been raped or sexually abused,” she asked.
Some of the services that they provide include clinical services where they offer emergency contraceptive pills to women who have been raped. The pill, she said needed to be taken
within 72 hours. They also offer HIV testing and counselling, and in the event that the client is negative, they offer them with Post Exposure Prophylaxis, as well as STI screening and treatment. Other services that they provide include counselling. The centre presently has three centres in Gaborone and two in Francistown.
To assist as many people as they can, they have a 24- hour emergency contact number ( also available on WhatsApp) which is 74265081, or the landline: 3907659.
Managing Director of Lucara Botswana, Naseem Lahri noted that the event was hosted because of the unprogressive nature of human beings. She said the event was held to create awareness and stop all forms of sexual violence and GBV. “We are talking to people through the Denim and creating awareness because of this case that happened in a first world country, where you would think that they are progressive yet a Denim created an Alibi for a perpetrator,” she said.
She further said that both men and women must understand that they are not judged based on what they wear.
“You should not be raped on the basis of what you wear. You should not be raped at all,” she said, noting that they were raising awareness about this societal ill.
She also added that victims needed to understand that it is not a crime to report rape, and encouraged them to come forward.
“The 93 percent are people who came through to report and this is not the complete report,” said Lahri, adding that a Denim Day should be held daily.
Giving background about the day, Angel Lebaleng of Sky Girls Botswana, said that the day is held to show support for all survivors of sexual violence, not just in Botswana but the world over.
She said that an 18 year old girl in 1998 suffered injustice at the hands of the Italian Justice System when her 45 year- old driving instructor raped her and was granted bail, and appeal. The perpetrator disclosed that the jeans that the girl was wearing were too tight that he could not have taken them off without her help thereby insinuating that it was consensual.
“This reached the women of Italy who wore jeans in solidarity with the girl,” she said. She further said that statistic of Gender Based Violence was increasing daily, and that they wore denim, united to raise awareness that sexual acts conducted without consent were real.