Stop violence against women
‘There remains a potent culture of gender discrimination in South Africa’
AS THE world marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children tomorrow, the Saartjie Baartman Centre (SBC) in Athlone says it has had to deal with 3 233 such cases in only one year.
This year, the government has dubbed the campaign “Count Me In: Together Moving a Non-Violent South Africa Forward”.
The theme is supported by the hashtags #CountMeIn; #365Days; #16Days; #EndGBV.
SBC for women and children director Shaheema McLeod said: “Safety and protection is the biggest challenge faced by women and children.
“There remains a potent and entrenched culture of gender discrimination in South Africa.
“This needs to be addressed if we are to secure the safety of women and children.
“Beyond this, numerous challenges exist in our communities that contribute to the extent of the problem, including substance addiction, unemployment and gangsterism.
“These fuel violence against the most vulnerable members of society.”
McLeod said South African statistics for intimate partner crime were staggering, with a homicide rate five times higher than the global average.
“We wake up so often to news of rape, assault and murder – clearly demonstrating that women’s rights to safety are not being upheld,” said McLeod.
“Our constitution is meant to protect all citizens, yet the culture of gender-based violence is so entrenched and the system is so broken that it has become alarmingly easy to dig up a collection of stories of brutal attacks against women.”
She said statistics showed that on average every four hours one woman was killed.
“Some research indicates that one half of female victims are killed by their intimate partners, though the police do not report on this in the crime stats.
“We also know that 35% of children under the age of 17 report having experienced sexual abuse.
“Regarding other forms of violence, such as physical and emotional abuse, or rape, we do not have clear numbers that take into account low rates of disclosure.”
McLeod said it was “deeply concerning” that so few cases of abuse resulted in convictions.
“Too often, victims’ cases fall through the cracks or are sidelined, and perpetrators face no legal consequences,” she said.
McLeod called for speedy and adequate attention and resources for investigations of rape and assault.
She added that a climate was needed “where women could feel secure reporting and prosecuting cases of sexual and physical assault”.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, an under-secretary-general of the UN and the executive director of UN Women, said: “Everyone has the right to live their life without violence or the threat of violence. This holds for all people. At the heart of today’s theme of ‘leaving no one behind’, is leaving no one out.
‘‘This means bringing women and girls as equals into everything that concerns them.”
Minister in the Presidency for Women Susan Shabangu said the effort to end violence against women would be meaningless without a collaborative effort of both men and women.
“Women and men working together as allies by building personal and professional partnerships is a fundamental and critical aspect of our journey towards gender equality.
“A conversation on the role of men in changing gender relations is not only important, it is a requirement in a society that cares deeply about changing attitudes and mindsets about the root causes of gender-based violence.”
Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) spokesperson Sihle Ngobese said they had a zero tolerance policy towards the abuse of women and children.
“The recent crime statistics released by our partners, the SAPS, demonstrate that much work remains to be done in dealing with the categories of crime which most impact on women and children,” Ngobese said.
The department currently had 1 800 social workers, both within the department and in funded NGO partners, and had spent R651 million this financial year on services for children and families.
Cases of abuse can be reported to the police at Crime Line 086 001 0111, SMS anonymously to 32211 or call the DSD hotline on 0800 220 250.
THE founder of NGO Ilitha Labantu, Mandisa Monakali, has said that since March there have been a spate of reports of violence perpetrated against women and children in Cape Town’s townships.
She was speaking during the opening of the National Dialogue on Violence Against Women, which began yesterday.
Monakali said that since the beginning of the year 17 women had been killed in the province’s townships.
“There have been 17 young women murdered in Cape Town.
“A total of 10 children were murdered by people close to them.
“Also, 22 girls between the ages of 3 and 18 were raped.
“We (Ilitha Labantu) are supporting the families, but there are many more we don’t know about because nobody cares about people in the townships,” she said.
She told the delegates, civic organisations and religious leaders that there were still too many cases within the townships that went unreported.
Hosted by the Ilitha Labantu and UN Women, the conference focused on religious communities and their responses to violence against women and children within their communities, as well as engaging government on matters of funding and aid.
The delegates invited to speak included National Council of Provinces chairperson Thandi Modise, UN Women multi-country office South Africa Ann Githuku-Shongwe and Parliamentary Internal Arrangements chairperson Thoko Didiza.
Modise said talks of radically transforming economies could not happen until we addressed the fundamentals of what make people vulnerable in their own spaces.
“We have spent the last two years burying babies… killed, raped by those who are supposed to love and nurture them, consoled mothers of beautiful young women, killed by those who professed their love to them.
“We have been numbed into silence, stigmatisation and actually developed a very thick skin,” she said.
Githuku-Shongwe provided harrowing depictions of child marriages from across Africa and human trafficking of young women from within our borders.
She urged the religious leaders to ask themselves who within society were the most vulnerable and left behind, as that was where their work should start.
Didiza asked that the religious community start with their congregations by addressing the issues that were uncomfortable in order to shift the narrative.