Africa-Press – Botswana. Government has been called upon to establish a one-stop-shop with dedicated personnel under one roof for victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and juvenile matters.
The call was made by various participants at a one-day workshop dubbed: Know your Children’s Act, organised by Philanthropist and Human Rights Activists Ms Gogontlejang Phaladi-Morokotso in Francistown on Tuesday.
One of the participants, and a social worker Ms Bogadi Chose said the one-stop shop centre could be an appropriate model to deliver services to victims of GBV and sexually abused children in Botswana.
“The one-stop shop will provide a multi-sectoral case management for survivors, include healthcare, counselling and legal services under one roof,” she added.
Her words were also echoed by Legal Aid Botswana Branch Manager in Francistown Mr Langwani Langwani who emphasised the importance of mindset change with regards to service delivery. Mr Langwani explained that the one-stop-shop was an effective strategy whereby health practitioners, the police and social workers would coordinate their respective services under one roof.
A lawyer by profession, Mr Langwani there was no gap of law in Botswana and as such, GBV and juvenile matters could not be attributed to legal issues. “We do not have a legal problem in Botswana and in any case the country is over regulated which requires a mindset change approach,” he added.
Meanwhile, Specially Elected Councillor, Mr Modiri Lucas told participants that one of the essential aspects of guiding children towards a brighter future was being mindful of the tools they use for learning and entertainment. He said parents should refrain from giving their gadgets such as cellphones at an early age, but should offer educational toys and activities that promote cognitive development and creativity.
He explained that raising a child was a collective responsibility, adding that, ‘it takes the efforts of parents, caregivers, educators, and the broader society to provide the support and guidance they need to flourish.’
Councillor Lucas indicated that it was still not late that Batswana could create an environment where every child felt loved, valued, and empowered to reach full potential. He stated that it was imperative for parents to teach children good values, kindness, empathy and respect.
“They build a strong foundation for their character and make them helpful and lovely people,” he said, adding that a key component of fostering such growth was to ensure that they were protected from harm and exposed to positive influences that shape their world view.
Speaking at the workshop, the director of Pillar of Hope Project, Ms Gogontlejang Phaladi-Morokotso explained that cases of child abuse were very high and disturbing in Botswana.
She said what was disheartening was that most of these cases date back as far as 2021 and have not been disposed. Ms Phaladi- Morokotso cited that nowadays parents were raising angry children and made an appealed for them to prioritise child protection issues and reimagine the future of children.
Ms Phaladi-Morokotso said children who were in trouble with law should be rehabilitated instead of sending them to prison, adding that also Botswana does not have children friendly courts.For her part, Superintendent Gaolatlhe Ngayaya of the Gender and Children Protection Centre (northern region), explained that since its establishment, the centre had made several breakthroughs in cases of GBV and matters related to children.
She explained that the centre was established mainly to assist GBV victims as well as children in contact and with the law and to access appropriate health and psychological services.
Superintendent Ngayaya said most of defilement and rape cases in Botswana go unreported which required public education and awareness. Participants that included Dikgosi, politicians, the police, social workers and other village leaders, agreed that child abuse cases were on the rise in Botswana.They registered a concern on the rate of case disposal, suggesting that such cases should be given a timeframe of six months to be disposed.
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