Penal Code Amendment Bill 2018

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.