Police Report Spike In Date Rape
Pini Bothoko | Monday January 14, 2019 12:57
Police said women live in deep fear of rapists as demonstrated by the statistics already being recorded. The Botswana Police Service’s public relations officer, superintendent Jayson Chabota told The Monitor that everyone has the right to live freely, but that seems not to be the case anymore.
Chabota said from December 21, 2018 to January 3, 2019 they recorded 109 rape cases and are worried that the upward trend may get out of control if not addressed. In 2016 the police recorded 138 cases of rape that entire year, but shockingly at the end of 2017, a total of 110 cases were recorded in a space of just two weeks from December 18, 2017 to January 3, 2018.
“Most of the rape cases occurred when people were retiring from entertainment places. Most of these cases have been identified as date rape as the perpetrators are often casual friends or an individual that victims are familiar with,” Chabota said.
“Usually the perpetrators would on that fateful day had spent some time with the women, entertaining them as well as showering them with goodies and later on demand sex in return. This seem to occur, as men would appear to be feeling entitled to sex from them after taking them out. We do not condone rape, but we are pleading with women to avoid instances that may make them vulnerable.”
He revealed that over the years most women were reluctant to report rape but after intensifying public education on the scourge, they have since seen a huge difference as women have been reporting rape incidents in large numbers. “It is not like in the past (the number of) rape cases were minimal. Instead a majority of women were shy to report such incidents, but thanks to our public education fora women are now coming out to report rape,” he said.
Chabota called on women to take precautions on how they entertain themselves, putting in mind their personal safety first.
“Women should know that being in the company of a stranger at night or walking alone at night puts them in danger as they are vulnerable as compared to their male counterparts,” he said. “It’s best for women to walk in the company of others at night and should not depend on men, especially strangers for drinks at entertainment places.”
This has forced the Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs to release a press statement condemning escalating rape incidents in the country.
The Ministry said it is disheartened by the escalating rape cases and are shocked by the incidents that occurred during the festive season.
The Ministry said the numbers call for condemnation of such inhumane acts stating that during the 16 days of activism against violence on women and children campaign, they pledged to end violence against women and children.
Therefore, the Ministry called upon the community at large to stand in solidarity to introspect, reflect on the moral decay of the society and commit to making Botswana a safe and secure nation. “This challenges the whole nation to collectively act against and shun the wicked and brutal behaviour displayed by some individuals in Botswana,” read the statement.
“We should understand that violence is more than affliction of pain to the individual, but such criminal acts are traumatic to survivors and catastrophic to the nation.”