BONELA condemns bus rank phallocratic abuse
Staff Writer | Wednesday May 24, 2017 15:11
BONELA was responding to a recent incident at Gaborone Bus Rank, where a young woman was verbally abused, stripped naked and publicly humiliated and degraded by a mob of men.
The perpetrators attempted to justify their actions by saying the young woman was wearing a short skirt.
“Such acts of violence against women and young girls should be condemned in the strongest terms possible as they limit women and girls’ constitutional rights to freedom of movement, freedom of expression and the right to dignity.
Women are rights holders and society should, therefore respect, promote and protect these rights”, Cindy Kelemi, executive director of BONELA said.
Kelemi said the Protocol on Gender and Development (2008), defines GBV as all acts perpetrated against women, men, girls and boys on the basis of their sex which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or economic harm - including the threat to take such acts or to undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on or deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life in peace times or during situations of armed or other forms of conflicts.
GBV Indicators Study, found that over two-thirds of women in Botswana have experienced some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime, and 67% of women reported being victims of intimate partner violence.
“The high incidence of GBV is a clear indication that we need to strengthen our gender programmes at community as well as policy levels.
The family therefore plays a key role in educating both the boy and girl child about GBV in order to build a violence free society”, Felistus Motimedi, programmes manager at BONELA said.
BONELA therefore calls on:
-The Police to investigate the Bus Rank incident, and ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
-Civil society organisations to intensify community sensitisation on GBV to prevent such from recurring.
-The public, particularly men, to lead the fight against gender-based violence by modelling good practice.