26 Nov 2024

Research shows that men living near mining areas bear the brunt of abuse from their intimate partners.

Speaking at the commissioning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence on Women and Children in Medie, Kweneng District on Monday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs Ms Bridget John said men suffered emotional and financial abuse in the hands of their loved ones.

Giving a background explanation on how come the event was held in Medie, Ms John said the 2018 research indicated that there was something different in areas in proximity to the mines.

She explained that the men do not have control over their salaries as the wives and girlfriends made unilateral decisions on how the money should be spent, and even hold their ATM cards.

Ms John said men were treated like children as they were only given a small amount of money, adding that this was also violation of their human rights.

She pleaded with women to desist from the practice adding that the end results were unpleasant especially since men hardly talk about their problems.

The permanent secretary appealed to Batswana to continue to voice their concerns and fight against Gender-Based Violence(GBV) throughout the year, and not only wait for the 16 days of activism.

She said GBV came in different forms and should be condemned. Botswana, she said, could not be a peaceful nation when families were undergoing abuse.

The event was held under the theme: Unite: Invest to prevent violence against women and girls.

The National Gender Commission chairperson, Ms Joy Phumaphi said ‘love’ and ‘abuse’ cannot be used in the same sentence since a person was supposed to protect the one he or she loved.

Ms Phumaphi thanked the men who participated in the survey for having acknowledged that they have abused their partners, saying this was a good beginning since the perpetrator and abused could sit and come up with solutions.

She appealed to the public to report all forms of GBV noting that where victims were afraid to report to the police, there were other alternative ways for helping them such as involving social workers.

Classifying GBV cases as a pandemic, Ms Phumaphi appealed to the police to increase their GBV friendly services to police stations across the country, saying the initiative was a highly welcomed development.

She also called for the establishment of shelters in all the districts to house GBV victims, adding that they could also provide temporary homes for students who could not study properly due to the abuse in their homes.

Ms Phumaphi appealed to the legislators to introduce a law against GBV noting that something should be done about the illicit drugs and alcohol, which perpetuated violence against women and children.

She further said there was a need to capacitate Botswana Family Welfare Association in schools and further, introduce GBV in the curriculum.

Ms Phumaphi urged men to also teach the boy-child on how to be a better man.

For his part, Kgosi Moatlhodi Kgabo of Medie urged residents to change behaviour saying it was not good for the village to experience high cases of GBV. ENDS