Violence against women not a crisis – Minister

Sexual, domestic abuse the most prevalent – research

The Minister of Women in the Presidency‚ Susan Shabangu‚ says violence against women was not a crisis but a challenge that could be solved.

She said this during the launch of research findings on the prevalence of violence against women by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) in partnership with Oxfam South Africa yesterday in Johannesburg.

“We are dealing with a monster which we think is starting now‚” Shabangu said.

She said although a lot of work went into research and campaigns‚ the violence was still prevalent.

She said that the ability to reverse patriarchal relations depended on the collective commitment of society.

“I say violence in our society because we cannot speak of violence on women without addressing the violent nature of our society in general ...”

She said the preventive measures started at home.

“How do we behave when a neighbour attacks his wife. What do we do? We must con- demn violence in its totality. I don’t want to say we have a crisis‚ we have a challenge because then we can confront it.

“We need to have observers who go to court to support women in abuse cases [who will] come back to tell us what needs to improve.”

However, research findings by CSVR suggests that violence against women is a crisis.

The study found that among the most prevalent types of abuse was sexual violence and domestic violence‚ and that intimate partners were most likely the perpetrators.

Nonhlanhla Sibanda-Moyo‚ gender specialist at CSVR‚ said the study found that women often shift the blame and victimise themselves.

The survey was done in Free State, Gauteng‚ Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. –