Calls to abuse hotline spike during lockdown
The state’s gender-based violence (GBV) command centre has seen a 200% increase in calls from women and children since the start of the lockdown.
Stringent controls imposed on movement had seen the abused locked away with those who tormented them, pushing pleas for aid into overdrive, the department of social development said.
A string of bloody killings, including the deaths of Tshegofatso Pule, Sanelisiwe Mfaba and Naledi Phangindawo, has thrust the issue of GVB to the fore.
Their deaths brought to 21 the number of people killed in three weeks.
As many gather in protest around the country, the centre has received an average of 500 calls a day since the move to level 3 was announced.
The department’s Lumka Oliphant said it had received 49,710 calls for help between March 27 and June 17, compared with 16,893 incidents reported during the same period last year.
Oliphant said 8,474 calls were taken since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the move to level 3 on June 1.
She said there were a number of contributing factors to consider when examining the surge, among them general frustration, depression and anxiety emanating from the effects of lockdown restrictions, as well as the imposed limits on external social interaction.
Economic or financial stress due to reduced job losses, as well as strain on relationships because of limited movement, which provided an escape from the home environment, were also factors, she said.
Annah Moyo, of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, said the lockdown had worsened instances of violence, often because women were in close quarters with their abusers.
“During the lockdown, many things have been taken away and one of them is movement.
“For most women who are abused, leaving for work or church gives them some respite from their reality.
“In the lockdown, the women are present with their abusers around the clock,” she said.
“We see added stressors brought about by Covid-19, chiefly loss of income and financial strain.
“Then they are stuck together and the stressors are compounded.”
“Understanding the extent of GBV in SA is important, but it’s difficult to track.
“Many cases of GBV go under-reported and while the call centre has seen a spike, we know the number is likely higher because not all women are able to make these calls,” Moyo said.
In a televised address last week, Ramaphosa broached the topic of attacks on women and children, insisting that SA was beset by two devastating pandemics — Covid-19 and gender-based violence.
“Over the last few weeks, no fewer than 21 women and children have been killed in SA.
“These women are not just statistics. They have names and they have families,” he said.
He also raised alarm over the link between the violence and alcohol.
Gender-violence advocacy group Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siya Monakali said GBV was an inextricable reality in SA.
“Violence against women and children is an issue woven into our society and the rate has always been alarming.
“But the lockdown brought about a surge.
“It would seem stress levels in all facets of life are taking a toll on relationships,” he said.
“Many women are trapped in these houses with their abusers and little can be done to help them.
“The conditions of the lockdown have made things worse, but what the pandemic has exposed is violence against women and children is something we can no longer ignore.
“We had so many other distractions before Covid-19 hit, like sport and social lives.
“But now violence in the domestic setting is in sharp focus.
“It’s not new, it’s just unfortunate that the deaths of these women have exposed weaknesses in our justice system.”
Precious Robinson of the South African Civil Society for Women’s, Adolescents’ and Children’s Health said: “People who women know are murdering them, people they give their lives to and love as a woman, people who are meant to protect them, they are the killers.”