Kill minor rape assailants - Commission
The Presidential Commission of inquiry into the review of the Constitution has recommended that anyone who is convicted of raping children under the age of 12 should be sentenced to death.
This comes about as the nation grapples with the Gender-Based Violence, which remains a challenge with most prevalent human rights violations such as rape occurring more often than not.
The Commission revealed that during kgotla meetings that were held across the country on the Constitutional Review, there were views that those convicted of rape should be castrated or hanged.
This social ill remains the country’s nightmare as women and girls live in deep fear of rapists and lovers causing them harm. Batswana also proposed that the death penalty should be extended to other crimes such as ‘passion killings’ and rape.
There were concerns that the law is lenient on those who commit these types of crimes, whose victims are mostly women and children. Responding to their views, the Commission noted proposals that there is an increase in GBV and that more severe penalties should be prescribed, such as emasculation of convicted rapists.
Furthermore, it proposed that additional measures in particular emasculation of rape repeat offenders should be included in the Penal Code. The Commission recommended that the law should be amended to provide that repeat offenders accused of rape, defilement, murder, robbery
and stock theft accused should not be released on bail. Batswana further submitted that a child friendly environment should be created to protect children.
Although the Commission agreed with the submission, it is of the view that the Children’s Act adequately protects children as a vulnerable group hence other laws such as the Penal Code impose stiff penalties for sexual violations of children.
Concerned by the escalating cases of rape and defilement in Botswana, last year Parliament amended the Penal Code to punish anyone who is charged with an offence of rape to be subjected
to a conviction sentence of a minimum term of 20 years imprisonment or to a maximum term of life imprisonment.
Where the act of rape is attended by violence resulting in injury to the victim, it was amended that the person convicted of the act of rape shall be sentenced to a minimum of 25 years imprisonment with or without corporal punishment.
Moreover it was amended that any person convicted and whose test of HIV prescribed by the minister is positive shall be sentenced to a minimum of 25 years imprisonment if the said convict was unaware of being HIV positive. On the other hand, where is proved that on balance of probabilities such person was aware of their HIV positive status shall receive a minimum of 30 years or maximum term of life imprisonment with corporal punishment.
One would agree that raping a minor questions our moral principles as a nation and inflicting pain on children brings lifetime trauma and victims go through painful emotions.
Some survivors face extremely difficult, painful emotions and experiences that they struggle to cope with for a very long time.
Every person responds to traumatic events in their own way and the effects of the trauma can be short-term or last long after the sexual assault or rape and one can imagine after a minor has been assaulted by a close relative and the perpetrator serves a short jail term to a point of being released whilst the victim is still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the assault.
However, there was a commitment from the government to expeditiously deal with GBV cases by setting up of special courts and child friendly offices in police stations, a development that came after there were complains that police stations were not child friendly something which makes it difficult for children to report ill treatments they face.
Meanwhile, when addressing the media on Wednesday, Minister of Defense and Security, Kagiso Mmusi said since the establishment of child friendly offices, the investigation of GBV cases amongst minors have improved since it is a comfort zone where they are also being offered counselling.