Scores of children in Botswana continue to be victims of rape as a result of their uncles, neighbours or their mothers’ boyfriends.
This is according to a study that was conducted by the Ministry of Justice to assess the state of child-friendly justice system in Botswana.
In-depth interviews with child participants examined their insights from lived experiences as they interacted with service providers in relation to justice.
The study did not seek detailed descriptions of the violent nature victims experience nor did it seek the detailed nature of crimes committed. Where children shared their experiences, it was meant to establish content and services received. When children showed distress, interviewers terminated interviews and caregivers were interviewed instead.
The report says 13 of the 31 children sampled in the study were raped. The youngest victim was between 9 and 12 and the oldest were 15 years old. Five of the 13 rape victims were sampled from Tsabong, four from Letlhakane, two from Francistown, another from Gaborone and also one from Maun. The results indicated that girls suffer a high proportion of rape from close relatives, including uncles, mothers’ boyfriends, neighbours, schoolmates and friends.
In all rape incidences, the police escorted the victims to the nearest hospital or clinic for a rape examination, HIV testing, post-exposure HIV prophylaxis and pregnancy tests. Narratives suggest that health services providers explained the services they provide.
In two case scenarios, (Tsabong and Francistown), social workers kept in close contact by telephoning caregivers. However, reports suggest that social workers often did not provide services to the victims.
The study found that trauma-related counselling services were not offered among children at all points of contact, either at the police, social services, or the emergency centre at the hospital, immediately after rape incidences. Respondents showed evidence of a persistent pattern of trauma, fear and distress about the incident.
The study found that none of the respondents could recall names of officers handling their cases across different service providers. Most respondents expressed frustration and disappointment for the slow progress and not knowing the state of their case. The police who were investigating were often unresponsive and failed to provide updates about their cases.
Of the 32 children assented and whose parents/caregivers allowed the researcher to interview, 25 were girls and seven were boys between the ages of 11 and 18 years. The youngest age the time the incident occurred was nine years with the average age of 15. Most of the respondents were victims of rape and defilement.
The results show that child victims suffer at the hands of adult males known to them or those residing in the same neighbourhood. Children in conflict with the law were primarily boys and their offences included defilement, rape, manslaughter, threat to kill, physical assault and burglary. In this study only one underage offender victimized another underage person.
Regarding defilement, the study says nine respondents (all girls) had been defiled. The testimonies from respondents highlight a pattern of indifference to defilement by the abused, the caregivers and the authorities (the police, the school and social services) depending on their circumstances.
Results in this study indicate that where defilement cases are reported to the police and social services, they take a long time to reach the prosecution and court system. Across most cases of defilement, child victims reported the abuse because the abuser had promised to take care of or is taking care of the mother and child, with some reporting the abuse because the father was not taking care of the child as promised.
