The meeting was attended by a diverse group of individuals, which facilitated a stimulating discussion. The diversity is in recognition of the complexity of the issue and the need for a comprehensive approach that can be made possible through bringing together people from all walks of life. We kicked off with the contextual background on GBV from Dr Portia Loeto who is a Gender Studies lecturer at the University of Botswana. Dr Loeto started by giving crucial background that GBV is a result of patriarchy and the power it bestows upon men. We live in a patriarchal world, and this means a lot of things. Let us start by understanding that “patriarchy is a social structure and legitimating ideology in which men have more power and privilege than women; according to feminist ideology, patriarchy is the main source of violence such as rape, battering, and murder against women in contemporary society.” (Smith, 1990). The nucleus of patriarchy is power and control, which is compounded by ways in which men and women are seen and perceived in relation to one another. Patriarchy infantilises women. Sexist and misogynistic attitudes of male entitlement over female bodies, space and time are the actual problem that we need to dissect and dismantle if we are to understand and combat the scourge of GBV in Botswana.
As a social construct, gender comprises the socialisation as well as the internalised dispositions of what it means to be a woman or a man: it says to us that men and women hold different social positions. These positions infantilise women and are often perpetuated and entrenched by ideological state apparatuses such as our culture(s), the family, religion, education systems, the media, the State and others.
