First gender awards billed for March

The national summit is organised by the Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) and Gender Links Botswana.It follows the successful participation of the organisations at the regional summit in the last two years in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In 2010, as a representative of the Sowa Town Council (STC), Chobe District Council Secretary, Rachel Jeremiah, led a programme that created awareness of gender-based violence. The initiative scooped second place at the Southern Africa Gender Justice and Local Government Regional Summit and Awards. Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Jeremiah said as a result of the programme that the STC created, the Sowa community is now more informed about gender issues."Survivors of GBV now find it easy to report cases to social workers," she said. 
She said when they started the programme, they found that GBV was perpetuated by the rampant cohabitation and squatting in the town.