Botswana is going to launch 25 gender violence courts this week. This decision was made following a rise in cases in coronavirus. Women’s campaigners hope is that this measure will bring speedier justice to victims of sexual and domestic abuse. The concern was that lockdowns were trapping victims of abuse in their homes with their abusers. “(Bringing a case to court) can be a long, tedious process, and this frustrates many victims,” said Kgomotso Kelaotswe, a counselor supervisor from the Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre. Botswana’s justice minister, Kagiso Mmusi, told parliament recently that of the 440 domestic abuse cases brought to court last year, nearly 70% had received a ruling within a month.
When I read this article, it did dawn on me a little how much of an issue this poses. Lockdowns from COVID poses a significant threat to those with depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. Victims of abuse that have to live with their abusers are stuck at home with their abuser. There have been record highs of suicide and depression in lockdowns according to some studies and I can understand why. I can’t imagine how many victims of abuse live in the US, and the lockdowns have severely impacted their physical, emotional, and mental health. To me, this puts ending lockdowns in a little bit of a better light.
To connect this to class, we have discussed the levels of action on the global scale; global, international, state, and personal. I think on the global level, there is the coronavirus, but lockdowns have been imposed in several countries, and coronavirus could be seen as too vague, so I think on the global level, lockdowns make the most sense. On the international level, I think the fact that Botswana isn’t a big player on the international level is probably why they are still in these phases of lockdown. I can’t remember the last time I thought of Botswana, so Botswana probably isn’t getting the medical attention it needs to end these lockdowns. On the state level, the country is working on speedier trials. On the personal level, Kgomotso Kelaotswe, a counselor supervisor from the Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre, is working on making faster trials.