Botswana’s struggles with rape prosecutions are increasingly being read not as an isolated failure in handling gender-based violence but as a symptom of a deeper, systemic breakdown in the country’s criminal justice machinery.
A recent UK government fact-finding report has revealed a disconnect between the high number of reported rape cases and the strikingly low rates of prosecution and conviction. The findings raise questions about a justice system that appears unable to deliver accountability across the board.
The report, ‘Country Policy and Information Note: Botswana: Women Fearing Gender-Based Violence,’ suggests that delays, withdrawals, and weak case progression reflect not just investigative challenges in sexual offence cases, but long-standing structural inefficiencies that affect the entire court system.
Officials cited during the mission acknowledged that the problem is “general,” pointing to outdated manual court processes, slow case conversion from report to prosecution, and systemic bottlenecks that undermine timely justice.
While authorities have pointed to ongoing digitalisation reforms as a potential remedy, the findings paint a picture of a system where survivors of rape and by extension many other categories of crime are left navigating a slow, fragmented, and often ineffective justice process, allowing perpetrators to slip through the cracks and eroding public confidence in the rule of law.
During a fact-finding mission, UK officials noted that publicly available data from 2021 and court statistics showed Botswana recorded a high number of rape incidents but very low prosecution and disposal rates.
Responding to questions about the apparent gap between reporting and justice, Botswana officials acknowledged longstanding weaknesses in the country’s justice system.
“What you realise is there has always been a problem. It’s a general problem; it’s not specific to rape cases,” officials told the UK delegation. Officials attributed the delays largely to inefficiencies within the criminal justice system, particularly the continued reliance on manual court processes.
Officials further explained that the complexity of rape investigations contributes to the low prosecution rates. Cases involving strangers are often more difficult to solve than those where the perpetrator is known to the victim.
“Conversion of cases from report to prosecution takes a bit long. Most of our courts are still manual. If everything is being captured manually, it’s tedious, so it takes a bit of time,” officials said.
The report states that authorities are attempting to digitize court operations and records management in an effort to speed up case handling and improve access to justice.
“What we are trying to do is the process of digitalization of everything, which includes the court system itself, so that even with the records, it makes the process more efficient. Then justice will be served on time,” officials said.
The findings come against the backdrop of persistent concerns from women’s rights groups and civil society organisations that sexual violence remains one of Botswana’s most pressing social challenges.
Officials further explained that the complexity of rape investigations contributes to the low prosecution rates. Cases involving strangers are often more difficult to solve than those where the perpetrator is known to the victim.
“There are different kinds of rape: gang rape, stranger rape, date rape. Depending on the type of rape that has been committed, the difficulty of detection varies,” officials said.
In stranger rape cases, identifying and apprehending perpetrators can take considerable time. However, officials highlighted the role of forensic science in solving some previously unsolved cases.
“In the recent past the Forensic Science Laboratory was able to link old rape cases with offenders through DNA analysis,” the report states.
The report also points to Botswana’s higher age of consent, which stands at 18 years compared to 16 in the United Kingdom, as a factor that may contribute to higher recorded rates of defilement and statutory rape.
Officials argued that this difference can inflate Botswana’s sexual offence statistics relative to some other jurisdictions.
Beyond investigative challenges, officils in Botswana admitted that many cases are withdrawn before reaching conclusion, often for socio-economic reasons.
“There are a lot of cases that are withdrawn,” officials said.
While police have adopted a policy of refusing to withdraw gender-based violence complaints once they have been reported, officials acknowledged that cases can still be withdrawn at the magistrates’ court level. “As the police, we’ve taken a stance to say that we will not withdraw any GBV cases. But they can still be withdrawn at the magistrate level in court, and I think these withdrawals are poverty-related,” officials said.
