Police child-friendly centres applauded
Pini Bothoko | Monday June 10, 2024 06:00
Few years ago, in an effort to create a conducive environment for reporting and responding to cases of violence against children, the BPS and UNICEF established child-friendly centre stations after a study that revealed that children were scared to report such cases. Recently, UNICEF visited Maun and Shakawe child-friendly centres to appreciate their effectiveness in handling GBV issues affecting children and applauded the police for the great job. UNICEF’s child protection specialist, Gomolemo Rasesigo, commended the BPS for commitment in ensuring the protection of the rights of children and their safety.
Rasesigo said when they started the child-friendly centre in 2019, they were worried about the low reporting of GBV cases involving children. But it has since proven to be a thing of the past since the establishment of the centres. She stated that they are strengthened by the positive feedback they are getting from all stakeholders which gives them an opportunity to explore other ways of working with the BPS. Meanwhile, the Director of Gender and Child Protection Branch (GCPB) Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Goitseone Ngono, said the child-friendly centres have positively impacted on the handling of GBV incidents. “This is as a result of improved police investigations, provision of a conducive environment for children to disclose sensitive information and specialised personnel who are trained in dealing with children and ensure that interviews are conducted with sensitivity and professionalism', Ngono said. Moreover, there are Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place to ensure standardised services across the country. Centres are doing well as a significant increase of reported cases and some which are reported by the children themselves,” she said.
Ngono shared the same sentiments with Rasesigo appreciating strengthened collaborations with other stakeholders which came as a result of the centres, pointing out that they ensured a comprehensive approach to supporting children who are victims of abuse or witnesses to crime.
She further appreciated the speedy disposal of cases reported at the centres from six months to three months stating that in their efforts to listen to the voice of the children, they have designed a referral form to facilitate seamless communication and collaboration among various stakeholders involved in the child’s welfare. Ngono said centres are fitted with technology to enable the children to participate in interviews from a familiar environment. “In the Maun child-friendly centre they have had a success in which they have collaborated with the Magistrate and the child in question participated in legal proceedings through video conferencing. This will cut across all the centres in the country,” Ngono said. The BPS has since trained its officers to ensure that they acquire skills and knowledge needed to effectively and efficiently provide the best services to children and have also introduced the use of audio visual techniques equipment for the interrogation of children.
However, child abuse remains a concern in Botswana as this publication continues to carry articles in which children are violated mostly sexually, something that is demonstrated by the rise in defilement and rape cases involving minors. The police have been issuing stern warning to sexual predators that prey on underage girls and to parents who conceal such crimes. But their efforts continue to fall on deaf ears as the cases continue to escalate. In the past, parents have been blamed and further accused of conspiring with the defilers to frustrate police investigations in efforts to bring the offenders to book and get the cases to trial. Moreover, they were also accused of having a habit of negotiating with families of the suspects after learning of their children having been defiled, despite ongoing police investigations and ended up ‘killing’ the cases.