Policewomen In Empowerment Workshop
Pini Bothoko | Monday March 24, 2014 16:22
He said this when presenting a paper on ‘Women in Law Enforcement Field’ during the Botswana Policewomen network empowerment workshop held at the Rock Christian Church hall on Wednesday.
Mathaka said that women in the law are faced with challenges just like other women and are naturally considered as the weaker sex.
He said unlike their male counterparts women must face and overcome the societal prejudice of being labelled the weaker sex.
He said that research has revealed that women can perform almost all duties and even excel in many ways, as physical strength has not shown police effectiveness or the ability to be successful in handling dangerous situations.
“Research has shown that female officers rely more on interpersonal skills than physical force, hence their ability to de-escalate potentially violent situations, more often than their males counterparts.
“Therefore they should disabuse themselves of the weaker sex notion and be involved in all issues whether deemed dangerous or not,” he said.
Mathaka said that due to this perceived belief that women are generally weaker, some women have developed the desire to be regarded as tough characters.
To achieve this status some have resorted to employing unacceptable practices, especially when dealing with clients, he added.
“Threats of incarceration of clients have become the order of the day to coerce them into submissions.
“That however has proven to be counter-productive and will certainly not earn the officer the status she would have hoped for,” said Mathaka.
He said that nowadays police institutions are leaning towards community partnerships and community policing therefore any harassment of the society will surely be antithesis to community partnerships.
“Humility, dignity and courtesy are some of your core values and surely strict adherence to them will earn an officer the title of a good and respected police officer,” he said.
He went on to say that more women are being diversified thus boosting their confidence in their workplace.
He said that women are being included in patrols, escorts, prosecutions and investigations, though they are still thin in those fields, hence a need for a deliberate biasness towards their empowerment.
He went on to caution female officers to report sexual harassment in the workplace that can be language harassment or sex discrimination because they tend to remain silent when this happens to them.
“More often, negative comments are made on how their bodies look, how they dress and other sorts of things.
“Some treat such comments as compliments rather than sexual comments. Jokes are allowed amongst colleagues but they should draw the line,” he said.
He said that there are reported cases where supervisors would demand sex in exchange for favours such as promotions and transfer to favourable locations.
“In any case, sexual harassment has been a worldwide problem.
“An officer who gets promoted after doing her supervisor a sexual favour cannot be treated with respect and dignity by her colleagues.
“There is also an issue of lack of equal opportunities troubling female officers, as the service is male dominated,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Divisional Commander North, Senior Assistant Commissioner Dinah Marathe encouraged female police officers to stand together as women empowerment is crucial, lead with integrity and continue to make a difference in their communities. She said that a majority of women are faced with challenges of being single parents, hence being heads of families and breadwinners.
At times that can affect their work but they should be strong and compete with their male counterparts.