About 15,000 children head households in Botswana
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday March 26, 2024 06:00
Speaking at the ongoing City of Francistown Full Council, he said two percent of the 737,241 children in the nation are leading households where there is a chance they will lose out on their formative years and their education.
Machete added that as of the end of June 2023, there were 18, 322 registered orphans. Amongst the registered orphans 9, 104 are males and 9,218 are females. In addition, he stated that additional factors make about 37, 023 children vulnerable. According to Machete property grabbing is still a problem for orphaned children.
He also said that there are currently five residential places of safety for children, housing 543 children who have been abused or neglected. Quoting the violence against children study (2018), he stated that in Botswana one in 10 females (10.4%) and nearly one in 20 males (4.1 percent) aged 13-17 years experienced sexual violence. He indicated that children in Botswana are subjected to the worst forms of child labour, sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking and forced labour like cattle herding, child neglect and defilement/rape.
He also spoke against the rising substance use amongst children. “The contributory factor to these challenges can be pinned on family breakdown, economic hardships which constitutes environmental factors. On the other hand there is the systematic factors such as delayed justice, ratio of social welfare officers to case load or coverage,” he added. Even so, Machete stated that the role of leaders of the community is to ensure that cases are reported. He also said that the best interest of the child should be their guiding principle when making decisions that affect children at all levels.
“There is a need through a joint commission (all arms of government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and community leaders to fight against any forms of child abuse. We should heed to the President’s call for mindset change to protect our children in our homes, schools and communities, ‘A re chencheng’. There is a need for mobilisation and support during implementation of the foster care programme at various levels,” he added. He said that Child line responds to child related matters through the provision of services such as public education, capacity building, child protection, counseling, foster care program and others.
The Child Line Botswana Executive Secretary further said that it is a reporting mechanism for the public to report any case or allegations of child abuse. He said that over the years the organisation has played a complementary role in government initiatives towards addressing child abuse and neglect cases across the country.
Meanwhile, Francistown Mayor Godisang Radisigo stated that child welfare cases are still a source of concern in their city during the council meeting. Regardless of whether they are the perpetrators or the victims, he said, children deserve the same level of protection. Radisigo reported that while the number of victims has increased by 33%, there has been a 39% increase in the number of children involved in legal disputes. "Neglect of children and inadequate parenting are the primary causes of this epidemic. The city will keep pushing for public education on children's rights and child safety," he continued. The Mayor of Francistown pleaded with the public to use the Ward Child Protection Committees that have been set up to help with child-related issues.