NEVERENDING WAR

Organisations collaborate on GBV campaigns against gender norms GBV prevalence worsened by ‘blesser’ culture

Gender Based Violence (GBV) remains a challenge in Botswana, as it not only has a negative impact on human capital, but also contributes to the erosion of the country’s moral fibre, HIV/AIDS, mental and physical disability and depression, among others, which has spurred stakeholders to take action to spread the message on combating it.

Local non-governmental organisation, Volunteer Hub, has collaborated with HPWL Southern Africa to host peace education workshops this April and in July, aimed at addressing this social ill. The first installment of the workshop takes place today (Wednesday) and participants will be taken through rigorous training on identifying and addressing GBV. The organisations released a statement noting that: “These efforts lead towards the Africa

Amnesty Month in September. The workshop is aimed at equipping youth with the tools to help them to combat GBV.” The workshops target young people, and indicators show that 67 percent of women in Botswana, and youth are becoming victims at an increasing rate, mostly affected by rape, defilement, physical violence and psychological abuse. GBV survivor Tlamelo Oreeditse said that the assumption is often that GBV occurs in rural areas and among the older community, but it is also prevalent among young people in the urban populace. She added that abuse is always assumed to be physical only, but it is often also emotional and psychological. “Unfortunately, due to cultural, gender and power dynamics in our communities, abuse is often tolerated because toxic behaviour is perceived as ‘normal’ and is justified. We need to inculcate a culture of respect and honour for personal values premised on genuine love and respect, and not on certain terms and conditions,” noted Oreeditse. She further adds that the first step is to encourage people to unlearn toxic behaviours; for example, some people come from homes where their mothers and aunts were beaten up by their boyfriends and husbands, and so they think that it is normal. Society has normalised disgusting and toxic behaviours such as cheating and abuse, she added. “The fact that we normalise this speaks of an inferiority complex and low self-esteem. We need to empower girls from a young age to have high standards and to respect and value themselves,” she said, adding that this behaviour, unfortunately, often trickles to intimate relationships where some individuals tolerate and keep quiet about GBV. Oreeditse also noted that the culture of ‘go-becha’ often perpetuated by ‘blesser’ and ‘blessee’ lifestyle, premised on men soliciting sexual favours from women in exchange for money or material gifts, worsens the prevalence of GBV because some young women find themselves at the mercy of lovers who ill-treat them because they don’t value them, and only see them as ‘sex toys.’ She speculated that often, when someone has financial dominance or power, it goes without saying that they would want to violate their partner. “Some of these women are even forced into unprotected sex or emotionally and physically abusive but they stay suffering for money. We should encourage a culture of financial independence among women, and teach youth, particularly girls, to be empowered and independent.” Botswana Gender based Violence Prevention and Support Centre (BGVPS) recently collaborated with Dreams to raise awareness among youth aged between 18 and 24. The team held an outreach programme at the Gaborone bus rank on Tuesday and will be by Tlokweng

Engen today (Wednesday) and Limkokwing University on Thursday.

Kgomotso Kelaotswe of BGVPS indicated that the biggest challenge is that many victims do not report incidents of violation.

“We have observed that some young women don’t report GBV out of fear. We encourage people to be bold enough to speak out on abuse.”

As part of its mandate, BGVPS carries out several activities including advocacy work through cultural dialogues with community political and traditional leaders, and consultations and collaborations with police. “Youth are also mobilised both through different life skills training activities, as well as the provision of comprehensive and integrated care support services for victims of GBV through the provision of shelter, counselling and extending legal support for survivors of GBV, and also the provision of HIV testing and management.”