2015 SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT AND AWARDS
ENDING GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND POST 2015 APPLICATION
This award recognises
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eGood practices at the local and national level to reach the SADC Gender Protocol target of halving gender violence by 2015. These may include prevention, response, support, or integrated approaches such as 365 Day National or Local Action Plans to End GBV. The award places a special emphasis on innovative approaches to preventing GBV, and forward thinking on the post 2015 agenda.
Title of best practicePresenter / Kamogelo / Theetso
Who you represent / Moshupa Sub District Council / Home Economics Officer
Sex (tick) / Male / Female x
Country / Botswana
E Mail /
Cell phone / +267 74924243
Quotable quotes*
Provide one quote from the organisation, for example the head of the organisation, that sums up what this network/organisation has achieved. Please remember to add the name, surname and designation of the person being quoted.
Synopsis*
Moshupa Sub District has in the past years experienced a high rate of Gender Based Violence. This has led to the Sub District and Police to intervene through community education and counselling, which was focused at Ralekgetho village. This village had registered more than half of the GBV statistics in the Sub district in 2013.
It was from these interventions that the Sub District realised that Gender Based Violence victims are mostly children and youth. It was then that the Sub District decided to combat Gender Based Violence amongst children by educating them while they are still young. This was done in order to have them grow up with this knowledge so that they become an informed generation on Gender Based Violence.
We conducted the following activities in 2014/2015 which were geared towards educating our young generation, and the community as a whole on Gender Based Violence;
· Commemorated the Father’s Day by participating at Molemo wa kgang(Botswana Television). Our Leaders;Kgosi Kebinatshwene Mosielele from Manyana and Kgosi Oscar Mosielele were part of the discussion panel. The panel debated on issues affecting men parenting, roles and responsibilities of fathers as part of the family. This emphasised on children’s rights to know both their parents, whether they are married or not.
· The Sub District hosted the Family Day, of which the theme was” Advancing Social Intergration and Intergenerational Solidarity; ensuring Work-Family Balance and Confronting Family Poverty’. This theme was meant to cause all member states to reflect on policies and programmes intended to address the family. To enhance programmes to effectively serve families as well as give the family the respect it deserves as a nation building entity. Furthermore, this emphasised on the roles and responsibilities of each member of the family.
· There was a commemoration of June 16 at Lotlhakane West.
· We also conducted two retreat camps for Orphans and Vulnerable Children at Moremi Game Reserve and Mmokolodi Game Reserve.
This presentation will focus on retreat camps as measures deliberately undertaken by the Sub District to address issues of Gender Based Violence amongst our youth. The Sub District Management felt that since we have realised, through our previous interventions that our young generation is the one that is mostly affected by Gender Based Violence, it will be wise to come up with strategies of addressing these issues amongst the children, to instil knowledge on Gender Based Violence in them while they are in their early years, hence the retreat camps.
The Ark n’ Mark programme which uses the Earth Methodology was used during the retreats. The method targets the adolescents and has been developed to help them confront and mitigate issues in their lives.
Key objectives *
The retreat Camps targeted 80 children aged between 12 and 17 years of age. They were set out to address the following, but not limited to, objectives;
a) To help children identify stressors in their lives
b) For children to learn that they can be active participants in changing their lives
c) For children to inform the adult world of their abilities and current needs and to have their voices heard.
Key activities
1. Helping Children identify stressors in their lives
Here children were assisted to formulate constructive ways by which they can cope and confront their stressors. The children conducted a role play through which they were able to share negative life experiences. They shared with each other in a group session about things that affect them negatively. For example; some had poor relationships with their caregivers, abuse from relatives, poor performance at school, not knowing anything about their biological parents.
After this, they then came up with constructive resolutions; now that we have experienced these things, how can we help each other move forward?’
2. For children to learn that they can be active participants in changing their lives
Here children were guided into developing their views and values. They were encouraged to become independent, communicate what they want and what they do not want. The activities here were to strengthen their confidence and personal responsibility. The children were asked their views on certain issues, they are listened to, as they shared those views. They were then guided into making choices and having influence over what they do.
3. For children to inform the adult world of their abilities and current needs and to have their values heard
The right of the children to be heard and taken seriously constitutes one of the fundamental values of the ‘convention on the rights of the Child’. This convention provides;
· States parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child.....
The children were empowered to know that they have the right to be accorded a chance to express his or her views in matters concerning him or her.
‘A family where children can freely express their views and be taken seriously from the earliest ages provides an important model, and is a preparation for the child to exercise that right to be heard in the wider society’.
(General comment no 90 (2003) on general measures of implementing for the convention on the Right of the Child)
As it is said, knowledge is power. Our retreats input these kind of knowledge in our children so that they could be empowered and be able to face different situations in their lives.
Partnerships and coalition building*
The Sub District has 10 Social Workers who have been trained in the Earth Methodology. This was done through partnerships with Ark n’ Mark Trust.
The Sub District has conducted a workshop on Youth & HIV/ AIDS which was done in collaboration with CIET-Community Information for Empowerment and Transparency.
Resource allocations *
Please state how you have mobilised for resource allocations for work on gender equality.
/ Amount local currency (specify) / Amount in Rand / Explanation /Gender specific allocation
Gender in mainstream projects (please specify) / 700 000.00 / This was part of the orphan care provision.
Amount contributed in cash or in kind by partner organisations (please specify)
Total / 700 000.00
Results
Working with governments *
The Sub District always works with other Government Departments in fighting against Gender Based Violence. In order for us to achieve the target of the Protocol, of reducing Gender Based Violence by half by 2015, we have realized that the Sub District cannot do this alone, hence the call made on other Government Departments to join forces with us. These include; The office of the District Commissioner, represented by the AIDS Coordinator, who is a member of the District Gender Committee and also facilitated during the retreat camps. There is also the Police, who are playing a vital role in encouraging our communities to report cases of Gender Based Violence as well as educating then on reducing such cases. The Sub District collaborates with the Department of Education, both at Primary & Secondary level, through the guidance teachers who work together with the social workers on cases concerning children who are or have experienced gender based violence as well as educating them and others on their rights.
Working with communities *
When working with communities, we cannot help to recognize the pivotal role played by our community leaders; Dikgosi, Village Development Committees, Child Protection Committees and others. These contribute a lot in helping the Gender Committee to reach out to the respective villages within our Sub District. Kgosi Oscar Mosielele has led Moshupa Community in combating ‘ matsetsenkane’- a group of boys who were bullying our community by harassing and attacking people at night. They were called to the Kgotla, together with their parents by the chief to be regimented and made to realize that what they were doing was not lawful and unaccepted in our community.
Capacity building *
· The Sub District Social workers were capacitated on issues of youth & HIV/AIDS
· Our Gender Champion, Mrs Dibotlhale, facilitated at the BOPEU workshop, on the topic of Gender mainstreaming.
Public participation*
The Sub District has elected and trained the Gender Committe. One of the Committee’s role is to end gender Based Violence by educating our community. The committee emphasises on reporting GBV cases as well as providing intervention measures on GBV cases.
Lesson learned and innovation
1) Gender Based Violence is a concern, not only to the Teachers, Police and Social Workers, but to everybody in the community
2) If our community members know their roles and responsibilities as members of the society, Gender Based Violence cases would not go unreported- cases would not be hidden behind closed doors.
3) If our children are educated enough on Gender Based Violence and their rights, they will know when they are being abused, and they will not be forced into keeping quiet about such cases or incidents.
4) Moshupa Sub District Committee comprises of The District Administration, Village leadership, Council, Police, Red Cross, Library, CIET, VDC, Child Protection Committees, etc. Working together as a team can help us build strongholds to combat Gender Based Violence.
Sustainability and replication *
The retreat Camps gave birth to the Home Based networks which are intended to monitor childrens’ progress after retreats. These work with Social Workers on providing follow up support to the children at their homes. These also strengthen the foundation that was given during retreat and aim at the following;
· Build social skills
· Decrease a sense of isolation and build a sense of belonging
· Negotiate rather than confront
· Support children in taking action when appropriate.
With the formation of the Gender Committee in our Sub District, which is active, all the concerned organisations have planned to bring together our forces to combat Gender Based Violence in our communities. We aim to empower our children by giving them knowledge. We believe that when our children are empowered, they will grow into empowered adults, build empowered families and pass on this knowledge to their children and together we will eradicate not only poverty, but Gender Based Violence as Well!
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
Above: Moshupa Police report on Gender Based Violence
Left & centre: children listening attentively during the june 16 Commemoration at Lotlhakane West, 2014
Left: The vice president, also member of parliament for Moshupa /Manyana, Honourable Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi , with the Deputy District Commissioner, Mrs B. Mosime, arriving at the Commemoration of June 16 at Lotlhakane West
Left & below: The Police, together with the community of Ralekgetho village, marched against Gender Based Violence. This village registered a high rate of Gender Based Violence cases in 2014
Above & below: graduates from the retreat camps .
Above pictures: Social workers attending the CIET training on Youth & HIV/AIDS
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