A new study on the root cause of Sexual Gender Based Violence, SGBV, conducted by Botswana Red Cross Society has placed the Northwest District at the top with high prevalence of violence compared to other districts in Botswana. The study which was conducted on three districts in Botswana being Chobe, Northwest and Palapye aimed to-explore knowledge, attitudes, and perception of community members on SGBV in their community.
The study reveals that all forms of violence were most prevalent in the North-West District compared to Chobe and Palapye. It further notes that specifically, marital rape was reported highest in the North-West District with 44.5% compared to Chobe with 28.0% while Palapye had (27.3%).
The Botswana Red Cross Society has engaged a lecture from University of Botswana, Dr Mpho Keetile as their consultants in the study. In his presentation at the root cause analysis study validations meeting in Maun, Dr Keetile said said the study is not yet final but preliminary results shows cultural norms and gender stereotypes are the root cause of SGV, noting that cultural norms often perpetuate toxic masculinity and the submissiveness of women,normalizing GBV.
He added that tradition and culture teach women to endure hardship and comply with all their husband demands to avoid punishment. ‘’Marriage problems, including abuse, are expected to be kept within the family, leading women to suffer in silence’’, he stressed Dr Keetile said one of the cause gender dynamics, the rigid gender norms which instill believes that women should be subordinates to men and men often see women as sexual objects and do not involve them in family decisions. ‘’Patriarchal attitudes and societal failure to respect and value women create power imbalances and enforce male dominance,’’ he stated
He also stressed that economic factors are the main cause of SGBV, with women living in fear of reporting abuse due to financial dependency on men who control resources. ‘’Men tend to hold better-paying jobs, especially in villages, while women often work lower-paying jobs, making them more financially dependent and vulnerable to abuse,’’ he stated noting that socioeconomic status and financial control by perpetrators leave victims with no choice but to endure abuse and Passion killings and abusive relationships are often driven by financial conflicts and economic dependence. Among the key findings, it reveals that high awareness and understanding of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) among respondents. ‘’An overwhelming majority (97.5%) have heard of SGBV, and 94% recognizes sexual harassment as a form of GBV. Additionally, 88.5% are aware of the laws protecting individuals from SGBV, and 79.5% know what constitutes sexual assault. A significant majority (79.5%) agree that intimate partner violence is a type of GBV, and 96.9% acknowledge that both men and women can be victims of SGBV’’
On the forms of GBV The study participants identified several common types of violence against women/girls and men/ boys in their communities. The most frequently reported form of gender-based violence(GBV) was physical assault (hitting, slapping, burning, etc.), reported by 79.7% of respondents.
This was followed by sexual assault (78.8%), rape (78.5%), threats of physical violence (77.7%), unwanted touching (73.7%), threats of sexual violence (73.6%), psychological and emotional abuse (69.2%), online harassment (54.3%), and marital rape (50.9%).
Botswana Red Cross, Programme Manager, Tshepo Dixon highlighted that Gender-based Violence is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world, including in Botswana.
She revealed that sadly, Botswana ranks second highest in the incidence of rape, at 92.93 per 100,000 people, and 1 in 3 women reports experiencing violence in their lifetime. ‘’This paints a sad picture of our society,’’
Dixon further highlighted that Botswana Red Cross Society has been working closely with Chobe, Northwest, and Palapye Districts, implementing a project supported by International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies (IFRC), led by the District Gender Committee, which is a rightfully placed multi-stakeholder entity.
‘’We, as Botswana Red Cross Society, have been working with the Gender Committees in the districts to define the outlook of SGBV in their respective districts, determine the interventions that work best in their context, and prioritize communities where those interventions would be most impactful’’, she said
The programme Manager further revealed that in pursuing their auxiliary role to the Government of Botswana, Botswana Red Cross Society has been working in a collaborative mode with the districts for the past 10 months to address Gender-based Violence.
‘We have managed to create awareness for 5,985 community members in person and 17,920 online through social and behavior change communication, built the capacity of 90 service providers and community workers, and conducted a root cause analysis study to promote evidence based GBV response, she said