GBV activism important throughout

Ivy Matlho | Thursday January 21, 2016 12:16

Dineo said in an interview that most of the people only notice gender-based violence during the 16 days of activism against it, then activism stops.

He said that this was shown by failure to spread enough information throughout the year. He said that it was during the 16 days of activism where most people were interested in spreading information on GVB, which could not bear any fruits.

“If we are really serious about ending GBV then we should show that throughout the year not only during the spared 16 days of activism against GBV,” he said. He said GBV activism should not only be noticed during the 16 days as some individuals experienced violence everyday and needed support to end it. He added that the activism should be shown throughout the year if Batswana want to end violence.

He added that cooperation between stakeholders and communities was critical in stopping GBV.

He said that it was a concern that most people choose to ignore their rights and allow themselves to be abused. Individuals who were abused should open up so that they can be assisted.

“Most of the abused people choose to be silent about the issue, they never share their experience with relevant people,” he said. He also said that if people could continue with their mentality of covering up for the abusers, then it would be difficult to fight GBV.

Dineo said that the victims also made it difficult for violence to be ended as they have the tendency of withdrawing cases from the police. This also affects the attempt to fight GBV.

“Some victims after reporting violence withdraw cases which means no action will be taken against the offender and most of the time that person will not stop his/her abusive behaviour towards the victim,” he said.

He said that people with disabilities should also not be left behind when addressing issues of GBV as they are also victims of violence. To ensure that the disabled are not sidelined in issues of GBV, he said, Youth Towards Excellence had a campaign to engage with the disabled and share with them, the information on GBV.

The Youth Towards Excellence is a non-governmental organisation that was formed in 2014 to focus on issues of GBV and empower the youth by educating them on ways of tackling life’s challenges.