Child Abuse and the Need for Compulsory Reporting

Compulsory reporting of child abuse matters is a necessary step to combat child abuse in communities. The current trend is that people choose to keep quiet or conceal information under the guise that the matter will be resolved internally. This has to stop...

Most child abuse occurs in the child's home, but a significant portion also occurs in organizations involving children, such as churches, schools, day care centers, and residential schools. There are four major categories of child abuse which seem to be more predominant in most communities and these are:

• neglect,
• physical abuse,
• psychological or emotional abuse,
• Sexual abuse.

There is growing public concern over the extent and severity of child abuse and neglect in Botswana. Apparently, in the recent past the number of reported cases of child abuses increasing rapidly. At the same time our child protection system is in disarray in combating child abuse. This situation is excarcebated by the lack of attention to the urgent needs of a large number of children who are at serious risk. It also puts many children at risk of being open to secondary abuse by the very structures which are intended to help them.

Ensuring protection of child rights and well-being is fundamental to the upbringing of our children. The government and other key stakeholders must commit to this cause. The full extent of the problem of child abuse and neglect in Botswana is still not known, as there has been no systematic interdisciplinary research in this area.

What is important to note is that there is growing problem of child abuse and neglect which is increasing and becoming more complex. The most disturbing part is the failure of caregivers, guardians, teachers, nurses and social workers to report cases of child abuse as they see them. Some caregivers or guardians collude with the perpetrators by exchanging gifts or payments for children under their care to be sexually abused. As such, they conceal vital information even when the matter has been brought before the courts of law. This leads to the culprits getting away with murder; most of them get discharged and acquitted.

On the basis of the foregoing it is imperative to impose compulsory reporting on those who are in the know. As any parent, caregiver, teacher, guardian or nurse who, without reasonable excuse, fails to report a case of child abuse or neglect that is known to him or her shall be held guilty of an offence and be liable to a reasonable fine or to prison term that could help in ensuring continuous reporting of child abuse and neglect.

We don’t know how people feel about this but we hope that this is necessary step to combat child abuse and neglect in the communities.