Young women band against GBV
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Thursday February 18, 2021 14:07
They have taken the fight not only at community level but also at the national level, by raising awareness on the social ill while empowering women.
The pair, namely Lenah Mahalelo and Baker Jakoba, will be hosting a seminar dubbed 'Together We Can End GBV', which intends to nurture and groom a generation of confident and empowered men and women.
Mahalelo, one of the hosts, told Mmegi they wish to engage various female speakers, different stakeholders of the criminal justice system and actual victims of GBV for this seminar.
She explained that they decided to raise awareness on GBV because there had been an alarming increase in such cases in the country despite the various interventions to curb it. She added that the disheartening figures show that the fight against GBV needs a collective effort not just to leave the fight to the government alone. She said the effort calls for ordinary Batswana to join in the fight lest the moral fabric of the society and entrenched principles are eroded.
'Batswana believe that 'molemo wa kgang ke go buiwa' thus the aim to have a seminar or workshop to discuss, divulge, breakdown this issue, encourage each other and plan a way forward in collaborative efforts with the relevant stakeholders. We will be having women who are often the most hard hit by GBV and this time around we will be engaging men [on this spectrum] too.
For a while we have been speaking to women, now we wish to engage with men, have a dialogue and work towards a collaborative effort in curbing the problem. The statistics show that atleast 67% of Batswana women have experienced some form of GBV, even though men also experience GBV, there remains a dark figure on statistics for men as they face stigma and therefore are unable to seek help [or speak out],' she said.
Furthermore, Mahalelo pointed out that for the longest time, they had been only addressing women adding that their new approach was meant to avail an ear to all genders. She said the different stakeholders that will be part of the event will educate the crowd on GBV, how to identify it, report it, deal with it, the importance of engaging other social institutions to fight it and raising awareness on women's shelters and areas to seek help and safety.
She stated that the lack of knowledge on places women and children could seek refuge in when facing GBV leaves them feeling vulnerable and stuck. Furthermore, during the seminar they will be liaising with the police on more community policing mechanisms and programmes towards GBV. The event also aims to assist women to deal with the aftermath, consequences of GBV and how to rebuild their lifes after being a survivor.
Mahalelo also pointed out that the engagement of men's experiences as the victims will allow for both sides on the same page of the story to be heard. The importance of mental health, reasons that cause GBV and ways to address the causes from the roots, will also be focal, she added.
She said engaging with men would also allow a safe space to break the stereotype against men being victims. In a further attempt to reach out to social institutions, she said they hoped to have traditional leaders speak and enlighten people on traditions and how patriarchy or customs do not justify GBV. She added that Dikgosi and/or Dikgosana were influential, especially in villages, therefore, having them spearhead some of the programmes would go a long way in informing the people on anti-GBV programmes.
Speakers will include Zenzele Hirshfeld (Founder of Women Of Works), Zannel Sealetsa (Motivational Speaker), Keletso Tshekiso (Motivational Speaker), Kgomotso Tshwenyego (Mother of Hope) and Godsent Sethibe (Founder Of Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler). There will also be musical performances by Boity Sedumedi and Psalmist Baleseng.
'We certainly wish to continue hosting events annually, addressing various issues affecting our society. Intimate partner violence or what is often called domestic abuse, which often results in 'passion killing'. Child sexual abuse is also a very worrisome case.
Emotional, mental and financial abuse are common too although underreported. Men are often the perpetrators of GBV. Although only 44% actively admitted to being perpetrators, the figure is quite high and could even be double, according to the GBV indicator study in Botswana.'
'Men should not be embarrassed to report because abuse is abuse and deserves to be reported and dealt with regardless of the perpetrator. It's important to constantly encourage men to speak out lest they fall into depression and other mental issues due to being silent while suffering. Women [as perpetrators] need to be called to order [too] if they do wrong and they need to be held accountable. It is not a sign of weakness or anything negative. Seek help and don't retaliate. The non-governmental organisations (NGO) also need to put in the same effort and energy when dealing with male GBV survivors without double standards. Men should be awarded the same attention and platforms to speak out without being judged, labelled or emasculated,' she said.
She added the seminar has a mandate to encourage GBV victims to get counselling services, lialise with the police on GBV cases, request donations of toiletries and food hampers, raise funds for victims, ensure lialising of shelters for victims and come up with online platforms that people could report and seek help anonymously from.
The seminar will be held in Kanye at Ledubeng Park on February 27, 2021. The entrance fee is P150.