Rape kit crisis deepens

‘EMPTY PROMISES’: PRESIDENT UNAWARE OF SHORTAGES AT COP SHOPS

Ramaphosa pledges to put police minister ‘on the spot’ for shortcoming.

Government departments managed to reprioritise R1.6 billion to combat gender-based violence, as opposed to the R1.1 billion President Cyril Ramaphosa envisaged when he first announced an emergency response to the scourge.

But the provision of rape evidence collection kits at police stations remains a problem.

In September, after a spate of high-profile incidents of gender-based violence swept through the country, Ramaphosa addressed a joint sitting of both houses of parliament.

During that sitting, he announced the government would reallocate R1.1 billion in additional funding this financial year to dispel the “dark and heavy shadow” of gender-based violence that has been cast across the country.

Answering questions in the National Assembly this week, Ramaphosa commended government departments for reprioritising R1.6 billion.

This means 200 social workers can be deployed at care centres throughout the country to provide survivors of gender-based violence with targeted services, he said.

“This is a phenomenal achievement,” he said.

Police Minister Bheki Cele set an October 14 deadline for when all police stations were supposed to have sufficient rape evidence collection kits for adults and children.

When Ramaphosa answered questions in the National Council of Provinces on October 10, Democratic Alliance (DA) member of parliament Cathy Labuschagne asked Ramaphosa for his undertaking that this would happen.

“We are now on a drive to ensure all police stations will have its own rape kits. I will monitor this myself,” Ramaphosa said, without committing to a date.

On Thursday, DA MP Siviwe Gwarube said this money meant nothing if the police could not gather evidence.

She said Cele had not met the deadline he set for when each police station would have the kits.

She said 76% of police stations still did not have adult kits, and 69% didn’t have kits for children.

Ramaphosa said he was “really, really disturbed” to hear this and would speak to the minister.

He said he wanted to know which stations did not have the kits.

“I want to put the minister on the spot,” he said.

While answering Gwarube, some DA MPs heckled Ramaphosa, who responded: “This is something we must work together on. This is not a joke, this is not a matter to laugh about, to heckle about.”

Inkatha Freedom Party MP Liezl van der Merwe said the state had trained 5 000 social workers who can’t find jobs.

Ramaphosa said this “pains” him and the state would look at employing more social workers across the country.

Economic Freedom Fighters MP Naledi Chirwa said Finance Minister Tito Mboweni had not mentioned the R1.6 billion when he presented his medium-term budget policy statement.

“It is clearly one of your empty promises,” she said. “How will this R1.6 billion stop a girl child being raped?”

Ramaphosa pointed out that the R1.6 billion is being reprioritised in the current budget, so there was no need for Mboweni to mention it in his mini budget.

He said a steering committee made up of women would watch how the money was spent “like hawks”.

– News24 Wire

This is not a joke, this is not a matter to laugh about