Botswana to establish sex offenders register to address sexual offenses

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, September 9, 2020
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GABORONE, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Botswana is set to establish a sex offenders' register in order to address gender-based violence and sexual offenses, Botswana's justice and security minister said Tuesday.

Kagiso Mmusi, Botswana's minister of defense, justice and security, made the announcement when making a presentation on the mid-term review for national development plan (NDP) 11 in the Botswana parliament in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city.

Mmusi said the prevalence and increase in cases of sexual abuse is not only a matter of national importance but also a matter of grave concern for the justice sector.

"This calls for urgent intervention by a way of legislative reform as well as other initiatives hence the call among other things the establishment of the sex offenders' register," said Mmusi.

To address the current pandemic of gender-based violence and sexual offenses, Mmusi said he shall be tabling a bill to establish the Sexual Offenders' Registry Bill of 2020 which will provide for registration of sexual offenders and their monitoring and supervision after release from jail.

In addition, specific needs of child victims will be addressed through the establishment of child-friendly police stations and child-friendly courts, according to Mmusi.

He said this initiative aims at enhancing the capacity of the police and courts to effectively respond to cases of violence against children which is critical to child access to justice.

The 2020 World Population Review ranked Botswana second after South Africa with the highest rates of rape worldwide. Botswana, with an estimated population of 2.3 million, had 92.9 rape incidents per 100, 000 people when compared to other countries across the globe. Enditem

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