Global statistics indicate that around 1 billion children worldwide annually are victims of some form of violence mostly physical, sexual, and or emotional. Be that as it may, 15 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 are reported to have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts in their lifetime with only 9 percent having reached out for professional help.
Violence against children continues to be a disheartening occurrence detrimental to the mental and physical well-being of victims, the community, and society. This scourge's devastating long-term negative effects cause health, social, and developmental problems in children.
Botswana has not been exempted from this scourge as child abuse remains worrisome. The Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) states that among children aged 13-17 years who had ever had sexual intercourse, one in four females (25.1 percent) and one in twenty males (4.6 percent) experienced unwanted sex at the time of their sexual debut. The First Botswana Youth Risk Behavioural Surveillance Survey also found that 13 percent of sexually experienced students were raped the first time they had sexual intercourse.
This, therefore, calls for earnest efforts of all stakeholders and relevant authorities to focus on raising awareness of the impact of sexual exploitation on children. It is also evidence that campaigns such as ‘E Seng Mo Ngwaneng’ that focus on encouraging communities to report cases of violence against children to authorities including the police, social workers, and Childline helpline, must be given the recognition and support they need to protect minors.
The establishment of a Child-Friendly Justice System has therefore come at an opportune time as it will go a long in ensuring those children and their caregivers report cases of abuse in a safe and protective environment mended by trained officers. Recently The Government of Japan donated a child-friendly Police Center to the Shakawe community as part of the embassy’s contribution towards ending violence against children agenda spearheaded by the Government of Botswana and UNICEF.
To celebrate these remarkable achievements UNICEF Botswana in collaboration British High Commission Gaborone convened a 2 days Child Friendly Justice System Symposium themed Re-Imagining Child Friendly Justice System to End Violence Against Children. The event was attended by a delegation of Government Ministries, CSOs, and NGOs to commit to ending violence against children. At the event Assistant Minister of Local Government and Local Development Honourable Mabuse Pule was quoted saying that “government ministries, academia, and civil society organizations and development partners should review and propose constructive solutions to addressing critical gaps for improving access to justice with particular emphasis on children, this includes referral mechanisms between service providers such as the judiciary, police, health care providers, education official, and social workers”.
To hear the voices of children Ms. Unaludo Isaac National Children’s Consultative Forum Chairperson gave a very heartfelt and moving overview of the current status and views of children in justice systems. Another contribution of young children towards this symposium was from the U-Report poll which had an overall of 534 respondents. Children voiced out and called on the government to improve services and make sure that children are included during programming.
