To date, Government has not yet implemented recommendations of a 2012 GBV comprehensive study dubbed “The Gender Based Violence Indicators Project: Botswana” which was part of a Southern African research aimed at measuring and monitoring the extent, effect, cost of, and efforts to end violence against women. The study was piloted in South Africa, Mauritius and Botswana against the backdrop of the Southern African Community Development (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development that aimed to halve levels of gender violence by 2015.
The study, led by Mercilene Tanyaradzwa Machisa of the South African Medical Council found that over two thirds of women in Botswana have experienced some form of gender violence in their lifetime including partner and non-partner violence. A smaller, but still high, proportion of men (44%) admit to perpetuating violence against women.
According to the comprehensive study, nearly one third of women (29%) experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the 12 months to the prevalence survey that formed the flagship research tool in the study. In contrast, only 1.2% of Batswana women reported cases of GBV to the police in the same period.
“Thus the prevalence of GBV reported in the survey is higher than that reported to the police. This suggests that levels of GBV are far higher than those recorded in official statistics and that women have lost faith in the very systems that should protect them as well as offer redress”, the study revealed.
The study also found that most of the violence reported occurs within the intimate relationships. About three in every five women (62%) experienced violence in an intimate relationship while about half of the men (48%) admitted to perpetrating intimate partner violence. About 30% of women experienced while 22.4% of men perpetrated GBV in the 12 months before the study was undertaken. Emotional partner violence is the most common form of IPV experienced by women (45%) and perpetrated by men (37%) in the sample in their lifetime.
The study also explained that the findings from the police data showed that GBV is the most flagrant violation of human rights in Botswana at the present time, yet only sic percent of the 188 speeches by politicians over the last year focused on GBV whole nine percent made some mention of the scourge. This has been found to be extremely disappointing given that “the views and attitudes articulated by political leaders have a strong influence on public opinion”.
The findings according to the researchers show that GBV has reached pandemic proportions in Botswana and needs to be treated with the same urgency as HIV/AIDS. It is emphasized that the focus on violence against women is justified by the overwhelming evidence against women and these cases result in extensive and well documented adverse health consequences. Comparing what women say they experience to what men say do adds credibility to the findings.
The study found that the most common form of IPV is emotional followed by physical, economic, and sexual violence. Almost equal proportions of women (11%) reported experiencing and men (10.7%) reported perpetrating rape in their lifetime.
Almost a quarter of women interviewed, 16% experienced attempted rape while eight percent of men in the sample disclosed attempted rape of a non-partner. Almost a quarter of women who were ever pregnant (24%) experienced abuse during their pregnancy and almost another quarter (23%) of all the women interviewed said they had experienced sexual harassment at school, work and in public transport.
The study also found that 88 of women and 66 of men reported being abused as children; most of this being physical abuse. Child sexual abuse was associated with the experience and perpetration of IPV and non-partner rape. High proportions of women (56%) and men (26%) witnessed their mother being abused and about a quarter (24%) of men who perpetrated by IPV in the 12 months prior to the study also consumed alcohol in the same period. Over a fifth of men (22.4%) who admitted to perpetrating IPV during the 12 months prior to the survey also admitted to using drugs.
“Although alcohol abuse may not be cited as the root cause of domestic violence it acts in concert with other factors, such as tress emanating from socio-economic challenges, to contributing towards acts of violence. A qualitative study conducted in 2005, revealed that in almost all the cases studied, violence in the household seemed to be alcohol related. In the same study alcohol abuse and related violence was most prevalent during weekends and month ends when male workers received their wages”, it is explained.
Ironically it was also found that men with higher levels of education perpetrated higher levels (55%) of IPV than men with lower levels (42%) of education.
It is also acknowledged that violence against women impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 1999 Women Affairs Department (WAD) study concluded that there were personal costs to women and their dependents as a result of GBV which included loss of productivity and absenteeism, loss of income, medical expenses, as well as expenses for socio-legal services. Institutional costs that were identified included social welfare services, prosecution and imprisonment of suspects and convicted perpetrators.
The study recommended that it is for a National Action Plan to end GBV in Botswana. The first step would be to get GBV recognized as a national emergency with a correspondingly high level of commitment. The 2007 draft action plan to end GBV, updated in 2010, needs to be adopted, budgeted and a national coordinating arrangement put in place.
To measure progress, WAD and partners must repeat this study every three to five years. By establishing the extent of under-reporting to the police, this study underscores the importance of periodic standalone GBV surveys in measuring progress to reduce GBV in Botswana. The findings from the survey research show the merits of this method compared of this method compared to reliance3 on routinely collected data. Survey methods are also useful as they allow for more in-depth understanding of the settings, patterns and effects of GBV.
Monitoring and evaluation strategies must be built into the action plan from inception. The GBV indicators Botswana study provides a baseline. Ongoing monitoring evaluations strategies must flow from the findings.
It is also recommended that there is a need for national GBV database from departments and organizations is centrally located, Statistics Botswana could, for instance, maintain the data base. Departments and organizations would then be obliged to provide statistics on a regular basis firstly maybe on a quarterly basis. Once the database is running the reporting could be more regular so that at any given time the prevailing extent and status of GBV can be easily accessible.
Data from the national database could be used to inform decisions on policy on GBV. This is critical for successful GBV programming informed by evidence. The requirement for all service providers to provide statistics will also allow for greater accountability within the sectors.
Other African countries statistics’ bureaux have worked with UN Statistics on initiatives to develop such centralized databases. The government and Statistics Botswana could pursue this initiative with the technical expertise from UN Statistics and UNECA.
The report further advises the police to move from manual registers to an automated data entry and management system that is accessible to focal points from all police stations. Government is further advised to interrogate the issue of provision of increased metal health services as a means of responding to GBV. While the policy guidelines place an emphasis on dealing with sexual assault similar emphasis should be directed towards mental health effects.
There is need for the development and institutionalization of clear referral system for GBV service providers. A clear and effective referral system is critical in reducing the possibility of secondary victimization and in ensuring that survivors access all the GBV services they need. Government should make provision for facilities of protection as specified in the Domestic Violence Act. The government needs to allocate resources for the running of existing shelters and for the establishment of more facilities.
