Lusikisiki features again as rape hotspot
Gender activists are dissatisfied with police minister Bheki Cele’s latest crime statistics.
The Q3 figures, presented on Friday, showed 12,218 people were raped between October and December.
Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape’s OR Tambo district is one of three top hotspot areas across SA, after Umlazi and Inanda, in Kwazulu-natal.
But gender-based violence (GBV) activists insist the stats do not reflect the true number.
The report reveals that numbers increased by 181 compared to last year’s report.
More than 4,900 rapes took place at the home of either the victim or the rapist, yet only 570 were related to domestic violence. Of the total, 547 involved women, and 23 men.
The town of Lusikisiki has a history as a hotspot for sexual violations. In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed thousands of residents about GBV and femicide after a spate of rapes, including that of a sixyear-old girl who had been raped by a school subject adviser.
The address was a bid to reduce the scourge.
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola said on Sunday it was not surprising that the town was ranked as a hotspot.
“It is not the first time. Lusikisiki in particular has incidences of forced marriage. Many still believe women can be used as sex objects. In our research we noticed that rape is not given the importance it deserves. Some victims do not even report incidents,” Majola said.
It was disappointing that, despite interventions, numbers were still rocketing, he said.
“It is shocking. It shows that more intervention is needed and our courts need to be stricter on perpetrators.”
Dr Lesley-ann Foster, the director of Masimanyane Women’s Right International and a member of the presidential GBV steering committee, was unsurprised the statistics were up.
“Covid-19 is one of the reasons violence figures are higher. Another thing is that violence is related to other social problems such as unemployment and job losses.
“I’m not taking away from the fact that rape and domestic violence are completely unacceptable. They remain a pandemic. We are a very violent society.
“It is not just sexual assault that is up, but also other crimes. The gaps in policing need to be looked at. There are still problems. At Masimanyane people tell us they get turned away when they want to report cases at police stations. We are trying to address this at the provincial level,” Foster said.
“I do not know about the minister’s numbers because our numbers are higher for rape during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Sometimes the statistics the police release do not add up to what happens on the ground.”
Foster agreed with Majola that it was no surprise Lusikisiki had such high numbers.
“Lusikisiki has been that way for a long time. Traditional and cultural practices play a big role. It boils down to disrespecting and not valuing women and girls. They are commodified. That is a big problem in our country.”
Foster said too much work had been focused on addressing victims. “What we don’t do enough of is prevention. We should put more resources towards that. We cannot just hold marches and light candles. Prevention will work and hopefully change people.”
Indlezana Yezwe founder Siyamthanda Ndlela said the increase in cases was worrying.
“It shows that the work we have been doing, all the awareness in educating people on how wrong rape is falls on deaf ears. It is extremely worrying what is happening in Lusikisiki,” Ndlela said.
“We should do more awareness. And also give psychosocial support to victims because if we don’t, they could end up being perpetrators themselves.”
Khanyisa Ikamva Projects director Loyiso Saliso said: “Our crisis is deeper than these [statistics].
“These stats do not shock me. Our police were busy looking for people who weren’t wearing masks.
“This is tragic. Our fight is to see a decline in numbers. Leaders preach a different gospel, as though they are championing this fight, but the numbers don’t lie.
“The numbers do not show how many cases ended in justice for the victim. Can we also get the national stats in cases that got justice?”