Daily Dispatch

Rise up against such abuses

ALMOST daily we read or hear of the killing of women and children around the country, with many fearing we are heading down a dangerous path of utter criminality that seems to hold no bounds.

This grim reality was again brought home this week when a child was murdered in East London by an as yet unknown person or persons. There was a cry of outrage as news broke of the killing of Jade Veldman at Second Creek, a predominantly poverty-stricken section of Parkside in East London. The three-year-old girl was found in a stream near her home on Saturday morning after being missing for hours.

A search party had been assembled late on Friday when Jade, who had been playing outside with friends, disappeared, only for her family’s worst fears to be realised.

Jade’s killing sent shockwaves through the community of East London and wider society.

A few weeks ago, a similar cry of outrage followed the killing of another three-year-old. Courtney Pieters’ body was dumped in a shallow grave about 2km from her Elsies River home. Her death brought to 19 the number of children killed in the Western Cape this year alone, according to police statistics. The numbers are frightening.

You cannot fault those who feel we are truly living in a sick society. How much more can peace-loving citizens endure?

We as parents, teachers and fellow citizens must take responsibility to educate our children. We should tell our children to be wary of strangers who have sinister motives to lure them away from their homes, schools or playgrounds.

However, we must also be cognisant of the fact that there is the very real danger that even family members or neighbours – people we trust to protect and keep our children safe – can very well be the culprits hurting our loved ones. Let us all be extra-vigilant at all times.

The deaths of Courtney and Jade come on the back of a number of murders of women by their partners. The recent killing of Karabo Mokoena, who was beaten to death and burnt, allegedly by her boyfriend, has given rise to a national movement of women and men taking a stand against abuse.

What can be done to stop this scourge of abuse of women and children is often the reactive discourse that follows these incidents. There is a need for bold action by everybody – law enforcement, the courts, government, parents and our education institutions. More importantly, the issue of women and child abuse should be an issue we take up as a country when we observe the 16 days of activism campaigns or when an attack on a woman or child becomes a hashtag trend on social media. We owe it to the countless nameless women and children who have fallen victim to predators to fight the scourge.

We can do something about this as a nation, community and government by ensuring no stone is left unturned and the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are locked up behind bars.

Inevitably, the law must take its course.