TIMELY INTERVENTION
Foundation partners with UB Legal Clinic to offer free GBV services
Chats Bua Le Nna Foundation has partnered with the University of Botswana (UB) Legal Clinic to offer pro bono (free) legal services to victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV). The services include legal advice, case filing, court drafting and court representation. Chats Bua Le Nna Foundation is a non-profit company based in Gaborone that was founded on the 14th of January 2022 in remembrance of the late Chatapiwa Keakantse, an attorney that was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend in Gaborone last year. The Foundation says in the seven years that Keakantse worked at Bookbinder Law firm, she toiled hard, proving to be a fighter who wanted to succeed. “She always wanted to improve and worked hard to be an associate. Her clients loved her kind nature and fighting spirit. In her we lost a vibrant and talented professional.” Against this backdrop the Foundation saw it fit to set up the NGO to challenge the myth in society that a man has some form of ownership over a woman to the extent that he thinks he has the power to take her life. According to the Foundation, the challenge that many victims face is lack of support and funds to foot their legal bills, which sometimes impede their efforts to seek help. Having identified this prevalent problem, Chats Foundation offers this service because it is something that Keakantse would have done out of compassion for others.
One of the board secretaries of the Foundation, and also an attorney, Michael Moseki, explained that the Foundation assists GBV clients of the UB Legal Clinic by providing the services of attorneys who are able to attend court on their behalf. “The Foundation has also undertaken to provide mentorship to law students working at the UB Legal Clinic and handling GBV cases.” He noted that those included in the programme include attorneys engaged by the Foundation, the UB legal clinic coordinators and students studying law at UB.
While the UB Clinic greatly assists members of the public with their matters by drafting court papers on their behalf, the students are not admitted attorneys, and therefore are not able to appear before court to move the matters. “Some of the clients are not aware of court language and processes which is a challenge once they are expected to move their cases to court. The Foundation will be able to assist with attorneys who will be able to attend court on behalf of clients.” The Chats Foundation held a session on mental health and GBV to capacitate the public on the debilitating impacts it has on victims and their family and friends. GBV survivor, One Keakile’s world nearly came tumbling down after she got raped and she also noticed how the people around her were also negatively affected. “I was raised in a loving home but after the incident, things changed. My mother changed. My friends changed and so did my siblings. I tried to numb myself to suppress the situation but it got worse until I decided to seek help. During that process, I realised that I was not the only one who was feeling pain or affected, the people around me, my loved ones, were also affected,” she said. Another speaker, David Kanje, a human rights activist, counsellor and director of Ray Light Holdings - an organisation that provides services that address psychosocial support to individuals, groups and organisations, said that prioritising mental wellness in the corporate sector and protecting the mental health of employees is vital. “I want to implore organisations, employers to take the issue of mental health seriously. They need to consider making sure that their employees get the necessary counselling services. We can’t just provide health insurance and leave out mental health. How are you going to demand results from an employee and not take care of their mental health?”
The Foundation fully supports investment in Mental Health Awareness because mental health is integral to developing healthy relations among and between people, as well as their functionality as members of society, and the hope is that Batswana would take a step to protect their health and wellness and contribute towards alleviating GBV. According to mental health experts, stress from GBV often results in physical and psychological effects, such as anxiety and depression. The violations also have the possibility of negatively affecting women’s general wellbeing and preventing them from fully participating in society.