Botswana Police Service hosted the GBV Training and Stakeholder Workshop on Monday with several members of the Police service in attendance. The event was hosted at Orapa and was presided over by Director of Gender and Child Protection Branch Goitseone Ngono.
The one-week workshop is organised by BPS in collaboration with Debswana OLDM and is currently ongoing. The event is also being supported by Ministry of Health and Department of Public Prosecution and Boteti Council.
The assistant commissioner of Police said, BPS was working towards establishing a One-Stop-Service-Centre. In this “center” all services related to GBV will be provided to eliminate issues like re-victimisation of victims.
She added that the organisation is still looking for a sponsor for the initiative. The sponsor is needed to provide a variety of services such as counselling, medical care and support services.
Ngono appreciated role of the community in supporting their efforts and lauded the community driven initiatives. She said the community has a huge contribution in the fight against GBV. She
She also added that most of the contributing factors to GBV were community-based. Accordingly, there is need for community led solutions that will be relevant and responsive to their needs.
The Director also gave a significant update on the police work during the opening of the workshop. According to her, the organisation has improved service accessibility, formed a Gender and Child Protection Brach.
The branch has been established specifically to deal with GBV related matters. Furthermore, they have established eight Child Friendly Centres for dealing with children involved in GBV.
The Botswana Police Service has developed Standard Operating Procedures for standardization of the service delivery. They are also promoting use of Science and Technology for strengthened response and intervention.
Acting General Manager for Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM), Howard Kgwarae, delivered the keynote address. In his speech, he condemned GBV as a scourge that has negatively affected many families in particular children.
He welcomed the workshop which he said was dedicated to strengthening GBV responders’ capacity. The Acting General Manager said he believed that by reinforcing collaborations, participants will create stronger foundations for effective response and ultimate elimination of GBV.
To address GBV situation, the Acting General Manager said OLDM has developed a GBV risk management framework. It focuses on key areas of prevention, risk mitigation, strengthening the capacity of GBV responders, survivors support as well as addressing the root cause of GBV.
He concluded by encouraging participants to take the opportunity of up-skilling themselves so that they may become more effective in their shared goal.