One child is raped everyday in Botswana
Botswana Police intend to soon start a pilot project of a child friendly office at the Broadhurst Police Station in continued efforts to rectify the half-measures in addressing the increasing cases of child abuse in the country.
If successful, this initiative will be rolled out to other police stations across the country and culminate in the establishment of a Child Protection Unit in the Police Service.
Speaking at the Gender Based Violence cycling campaign event held in Gaborone this past weekend, Police Commissioner Keabetswe Makgophe said there have been recurring complaints that most police stations are not child friendly which makes it difficult for minors to be free to report crimes and any violation that they might face.
“We have heeded concerns that sometimes the environment does not allow young people, notably children, to be open to make statements as they feel intimidated and overwhelmed,” he noted.
He said the increase in child abuse cases reflected that there is a need to create policing structures that would make it easier for children to open up and press charges against perpetrators and make statements.
Following assessment of this project,
Botswana Police will establish a Gender and Child Protection Unit by next year, with the mandate to combat and rigorously address cases of Gender-based violence and child abuse in the country.
Makgophe said Police are intent on cracking the whip in addressing prevalent abuse of children in communities and bringing perpetrators of Gender based violence to book.
This year cases of abuse against children shot through the roof during the lockdown. Of the first 23 cases of sexual abuse cases reported, seven of the victims were children.
Estimation of the total recorded cases from Botswana Police show that on average one child is raped every day in Botswana.
Records show that the youngest victim was two years old and that even boy children were sexually violated, with approximately 17 cases reported, indicating that many children are not safe even in their homes.
Earlier this year, Makgophe expressed concern over the increase in the number of cases of child abuse including child pornography, defilement and rape.
Statistics from UNICEF Botswana’s most recent ‘Violence against Children Study’ indicated that about one in ten females and nearly one in two males under the age of 18 years old have experienced sexual violence in Botswana.