Country Botswana
Year 2018
Type of Measure Violence against women > Legislation
Form of Violence Sexual violence

Brief Description


The Parliament of Botswana amended the Penal Code to raise the age of sexual consent from sixteen to eighteen years. The move was part of Government’s efforts to curb defilement in the Country. This seeks to address incidences of defilement, abuse, abduction, assault and kidnapping of children. Through this amendment, the Government of Botswana has addressed the general concerns of the public that laws are not deterrent enough by introducing stiffer fines and penalties particularly for the offences of murder, rape and manslaughter and encourage uniformity in sentencing by introducing minimum mandatory sentence.

Source of Information

Botswana's submission for National Review for Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, Beijing+25, 2019, p.37-38

For more information: Penal Code Amendment Bill 2018