Stop Femicide!!

Monitor Editor | Monday September 16, 2019 10:05

Newspapers have been publishing articles about women who were killed by either their lovers or ex-lovers, and furthermore, some of these murders were committed in front of minors, who helplessly watched as their mothers were being killed, a matter which will definitely haunt the children for the rest of their lives.

In a number of cases, men find it hard to accept rejection or rather accept the fact that the relationship has ended. Unfortunately, GBV is rampant in many households. But most of the victims suffer in silence and the abuse at times end up with the women losing their lives.

Non-governmental organisations such as Gender Links have for years launched campaigns against GBV, but the information disseminated seems to be falling on deaf ears. GBV Indicators Study Report was launched in March of 2012.

The study conducted by Women’s Affairs Department and Gender Links, revealed that over two thirds of women in Botswana (67%) have experienced some form of gender violence in their lifetime. The study also showed that the prevalence of GBV reported in the survey is 24 times higher than   that reported to the police.

Seven years down the line, the numbers seem to be growing and more and more women are being killed by their intimate partners or ex-lovers.

Hardly a week goes by without reports of a woman being killed by a lover or ex-lover or reports of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).

Just last week a local newspaper carried an article about a man who cut his lover’s ears and forced her to eat them.

A lot of people are just now starting to seek knowledge about mental health issues. Many homes in the past never used to take mental health issues to heart.

In most cases, a child who shows excessive anger, or unexplainable mood swings would be deemed as a naughty person without necessarily finding out if the child could be suffering from mental health issues or not.

Maybe it is time the society goes back to the drawing board and tries to get to the root cause of this senseless crime that end up turning little children into orphans. Mental health issues should also be taken seriously, and people should be encouraged to seek help on such matters.