Gaborone — The Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs is collaborating with a multi-sectoral team to establish One-Stop Service Centres for GBV survivors to address the gap between reporting gender-based violence (GBV) and accessing justice.
Presenting the ministry's budget estimates for the 2026/27 financial year on Monday, Minister Lesego Chombo said the initiative marked a significant shift toward a comprehensive, survivor-centred approach, enabling victims to receive integrated medical, legal, counselling and psychosocial support in a single location.
Minister Chombo emphasised that such a model was essential for a coordinated national response and ensured that survivors did not navigate a fragmented system alone. She also indicated that women's economic empowerment was a key defence against vulnerability and violence.
To tackle the link between economic disempowerment and GBV, she said the ministry was accelerating women's economic participation through programmes such as EntreprenHER and a major milestone was the Memorandum of Understanding signed between government and Stanbic Bank.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
"This partnership aims to remove financial barriers, deliver dedicated business development support for women-owned enterprises and promote greater financial independence and decision-making power," said Minister Chombo.
She also observed imbalance in programming between women and men, leading the ministry to incorporate the men's sector into its mandate.
"Although this shift lacks dedicated personnel or budget in the current financial year, provisions will be made in the upcoming year. The ministry will adopt a deliberate and structured approach to ensure inclusive programming responsive to both genders' needs," she added.
Again, the minister highlighted that integrating a gender perspective across government and society was not optional but a strategic imperative for effective governance and sustainable development.
"To institutionalise this, key measures include advancing GBV legislation, revitalising the Inter-ministerial Committee on GBV, strengthening the National Gender Commission and embedding gender-responsive budgeting across all sectors," she said.
Also, she said the ministry continued to mainstream youth and gender issues across sectors, guiding other ministries on incorporating gender and youth responsive programmes, policies and legislation for systemic inclusion.
On youth development, Ms Chombo outlined plans to strengthen the ministry's coordination role in mainstreaming youth issues to ensure that youth priorities were integrated into sectoral legislation, programmes, policies, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
That, she said, would be achieved through the Revised Youth Policy and implementation plan, which would guide the development and operationalisation of youth sectoral interventions for greater inclusion.
Regarding job creation, she said the forthcoming Youth Employment Strategy would provide tools for a cohesive ecosystem to enable efficient collaboration between government and partners to support young people's economic development and enhance accountability.
Recognising challenges in accessing start-up capital and sustaining enterprises, she noted that the ministry was remodelling the Youth Development Fund for greater sustainability and efficiency. She said the revamped programme would improve financial and operational sustainability, automation, governance and accountability.
"It is expected to generate decent employment for youth, alongside mentorship, post-funding support and market access facilitation," she said.
Meanwhile, Minister Chombo requested over P686 million for the recurrent budget and P5 million under the development budget for the 2026/27 financial year. BOPA
BOPA
