In one of the most peaceful and admired countries in Africa, violence against women is rampant. Women in Botswana are beaten and raped by their male partners on a daily, if not hourly basis. Very little is being done to prevent the violence or to protect the victims. In Southern Africa it is estimated that a quarter to one half of all women are abused by their partners. In South Africa a woman is raped every 35 seconds and one in two women will be raped in their lifetime. Research into the existence and situation of abused women in Botswana began in the mid-1980s, 20 years after independence. In 1993 the NGO Network for Women's Rights and the NGO Coalition were formed, both of which acknowledged violence against women as a national problem requiring urgent attention. Vision 2016, a document designed to lead Botswana into the next century, says the rising trend of violence against women "must be arrested and reversed". It calls for community-based education, the enactment and enforcement of laws, and the provision of support services. Government's position . The Botswana government has formed a Women's Affairs Department, signed international agreements, commissioned studies and developed policy guidelines and frameworks. However the impact of these studies, the limited outreach and budget of the Department, and the effect of the treaties signed is questionable. In 1998 the government formulated a National Gender Programme Framework which notes that violence against women is on the increase, that very little is being done to prevent it and that treatment services urgently need to be developed. The Framework recommends that government provide funds to "foster the development of programs/projects related to women abuse". It concludes that despite the escalation of male violence there are no adequate programs to respond to the problems and needs of victims or perpetuators. Rape From 1986-1996 the annual number of reported rape cases almost doubled from 599 to 1101. However, many charges of rape are withdrawn and few end with the perpetrator in jail. In 1982 only 23 percent of reported rapes ended in a conviction. In 1997 this had fallen still further to 20 percent. At the same time, the percentage of cases that are closed has increased, with a worrying 70 percent in 1992. Botswana is now believed to have one of the lowest conviction rates in the region. Police in South Africa have estimated that only one in 35 rapes is reported. If this figure were applied to Botswana then, taking the 633 rapes recorded by the police in the first half of 1999 as a guideline, a woman is raped every 12 minutes. Rape crisis counselors in Botswana believe that even fewer rapes are reported as many prefer to keep the crime a "family matter", so in fact this figure is likely to be much higher. In the first half of 1999, police recorded 88 murder cases and 320 armed robbery cases. The most comprehensive survey on rape remains a 1994 study conducted by Emang Basadi which calls rape "one of the most wanting social problems of our times". It estimates that rape has been increasing at an annual average rate of five percent per annum since 1982. Prior to the amended laws, no convicted rapist had ever received the maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A 1984 study found the average range of sentences was 18 months to 10 years - with 66 percent of convicted rapists receiving two to four years. Almost 10 years later, another study found sentences still ranged from between just six months and nine years. 6 Sentencing has become tougher in recent years partly due to the new laws, but police and court procedures still leave a lot to be desired. In one recent case a seven year old girl was raped by a stranger, the accused was locked up for a few days and then released. No further action was taken. Battering Battering - domestic or spousal violence - is believed to be the most frequent form of violence suffered by women in Botswana. In the recent Women's Affairs survey 37 percent of interviewees had suffered a severe beating 1-5 times in 1998 at the hands of their male partner. This traditional 'right to chastise' was challenged in a 1985 high court murder case where the court president said the law "does not and will not recognize what is alleged to be accepted custom in Botswana, that a husband may physically assault his wife if she incurs his discipline". 7 Justifications for violence against women on grounds of culture also appear to be rejected by the majority. "I am a proud Motswana, but how can I call abuse culture?" asked one teacher during a recent workshop. Domestic violence is still not regarded as a specific criminal offence which means there are few statistics on the issue because court and police records show only "assault". However, recent research carried out for the Women's Affairs Department shows that in two out of three cases of "assault" tried at customary courts women are the victims. Nationwide customary court records from 1994-1998 show that the number of violence against women has been consistently high in comparison with the total number of violence cases. 8 Many cases of domestic violence do not make it to court or are withdrawn before sentencing. About 65 percent of women still prefer to report domestic violence to in-laws and parents rather than to the courts, often with satisfactory results. 9 However many do not report the abuse to anyone. Says one survivor interviewed: "Women don't report because they are ashamed of reporting things, people will say that they will be exposing their secrets". Women are also put off by unsympathetic in-laws, especially mothers-in-laws. At a recent public meeting, participants said wife battering is a "bedroom issue" and not something to be talked about publicly. Last year's first ever report on torture in Botswana produced by Ditshwanelo, the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, specifically included domestic violence as a form of torture. Earlier this year, battered women syndrome was introduced as a defence in a Botswana court of law for the first time. Domestic violence is also an issue which the Botswana police are apparently keen to attach a new importance to. In 1997 a group of six NGOs petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Norman Moleboge, over the police's lax handling of numerous cases of domestic violence. Impressively, the Commissioner responded by immediately setting up a task force that reinvestigated 22 cases. The petition, initiated by Metlhaetsile, led in turn to the drafting of a new domestic violence bill. © Speak Out Terms of use |