Stay away from young girls - police warn
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday March 29, 2022 06:00
The police recently issued a statement stating that only four of 24 defilement cases referred to them by Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) were reported to the police. Botswana Police Service's (BPS) public relations officer, assistant commissioner Dipheko Motube expressed concern over escalating cases of sexual abuse of underage girls despite numerous efforts by the police to educate members of the public on this matter. Motube said recently the police’s child-friendly service centre in Gaborone received a total of 24 cases of defilement that were referred by PMH and their preliminary investigations have revealed that 20 of the 24 incidents that occurred in Greater Gaborone were not reported to the police.
“I want to issue a strong warning to the perpetrators and those who conceal defilement incidents. Sexual assault against children is at an alarming rate hence perpetrators should be warned because we are coming for them,” he said. Motube said between November 2021 and March 17, 2022, PMH delivered children born of teenage mothers aged 15 and 17. Furthermore, Motube said an increase in the number of sexual offences involving underage girls is a concern countrywide. “The overall statistics show that 2,033 cases of defilement were recorded in 2021 as compared to 1,825 cases reported in 2020, incidents that have forced some girls to drop out of school,” Motube said. In the past, the police revealed that in most cases, these girls were in relationships with their peers whilst the majority were involved with older men despite their efforts to sensitise men about defilement and other sexual offences. “Only four cases out of 24 that were referred by PMH to us were reported to the police.
This shows that parents continue to conceal defilement incidents. I am pleading with men to respect young girls and let them grow into adults that can make wise and mature decisions,” Motube said. Motube warned parents to refrain from concealing information about their defiled daughters and allow the police to do their job. In the past, parents have been blamed and further accused of conspiring with the defilers to frustrate police investigations in efforts to bring the offenders to book and get the cases to a trial. Moreover, they were also accused of having a habit of negotiating with families of the suspects after learning of their children having been defiled, despite ongoing police investigations and ended up ‘killing’ the cases. Men have been cautioned to know that inflicting pain on minors bring lifetime trauma and the victims go through painful emotions.