Gender Disparity between the Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students towards Juvenile Delinquency in Botswana

Introduction The concept of juvenile delinquency is so complex that it is perceived differently by psychologists, sociologists, legal practitioners and religionists. Nevertheless, the consensus is that Juvenile delinquency is an anti-social behaviour (Adeloye and Aina 1990). Each society prescribes its own sets of norms and values and beliefs which should be strictly adhered to by its members, and anybody who violates them is seen as delinquent. Delinquent offences are many and varied both in frequency of occupance and in the level of seriousness. They range from robbery to murder, vandalism, abuse of alcohol using hard drugs, thievery, bulling, rudeness, receiving of stolen goods and truancy (lovell, 1976 and Onyehalu, 1986). Delinquent behaviours may be culturally based, hence, a behaviour which is considered delinquent in one society may be approved in another society. For example in Africa you cannot ask for a hand shake from your father or an elderly person. African society disapproved this culturally, but you can stretch your hand for a hand-shake to your father in American society and yet, American society approves of this. Several Researchers have identified various factors responsible for Juvenile delinquency. These include generic factors, physiological factors, parent related factors, peer-group related factors, defective home background, personal factors and blurred goals. (Bainbridge 1980. Onvehalu 1986. Akinboye 1988, Sadauki, 1988). The youth are considered as a centre of hope and a symbol of te future for every nation, and are affectionately regarded as te future leaders. (Keregero and Dlamini, 1986). It is in this regard that increasing incidence of Juvenile delinquency and associated problems have become a cause tar concern among parents, teachers, and policy makers all over the world. The youth now make up a valued constituency in modern society. Current efforts by the international community through a combination of lobbying and pressure on nations to ratify protocols on human rights, including the rights of youths, point to the increasing recognition of the important role and place of youth in the society. There has been a general fear that juvenile delinquency might lead to adult criminality, and therefore, must always be curtailed before contaminating the society. The various suggestions made for curbing juvenile delinquency have apparently prompted many state governments in Botswana (an indeed world-wide) to set up juvenile courts, remand homes., reformatory schools and correctional homes or juvenile prisons. Yet, it seems that all these measures have not been sufficiently effective in curtailing this social measures. According to Mmopi (1994) in "mmegi" Newspaper of 27/01/95 in Botswana. property worth millions of US. Dollars was destroyed by Radikolo Junior Secondary School students at Mochudi. The students took to the streets with a vow to find the murders of their fellow school mate who was believed to have been murdered for ritual purpose, particularly when some parts of the corpse were missing. Another incident out of several ones involved a deviant behaviour in which the police were investigating a case in which an 8 - year old standard 2 girl was gang-raped by a group of boys. Granbard (1973) found out that the type of offence differs sharply between the sexes, boys being more often convicted of violent offences like rape, robbery, and vandalism while girls are more often convicted of sex-related crimes or running away from home. Thornburg (1975), stated that reports from the United States of America showed that there has been less disparity between gender in delinquency rates as the incidence seem to have increased more dramatically among the females than mates. The question that arise therefore is "Is there a disparity between male and female students with regard to the type of juvenile delinquency engaged in Botswana Secondary Schools. …