Curbing a violent trend
Declining GBV statistics hold little joy for those locked down with their abusers
ON PAPER, the decline in reported gender-based violence (GBV) crimes looks like good news. The reality on the ground is very different: many women remain locked down with their abusers during the Covid-19 pandemic, unable to seek help from the police.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele noted the conflicting duality at the first quarter 2020/2021 crime statistics media briefing held on August 14. While the statistics are “distorted” given the circumstances they were collected in, Cele said that the period “was a much safer time to live in, in this country.”
Contrasting the 2019/2020 crime statistics, there has been a 36% decrease in murder cases. Sexual offences dropped by 39% and reported rape cases declined by 40%.
But this should not be something to celebrate. Rather, we should recognise that our statistics make this country a dangerous place for women and girls. Gender-based violence statistics still remain unacceptably high by any standard, albeit showing a “reduction” of crimes against women and children.
When analysing these two sets of statistics, a familiar narrative plays out: 58 persons are murdered every day. Bearing in mind that many cases go unreported, sexual offences such as rape and GBV are continuing unabated.
The number of murders has shown a steady increase every year, for the last eight years. This is the same with the numbers in GBV, which has had a 1.7% uptick.
Therefore, the first quarter statistics confirm what most people perceive South Africa to be – an unrelentingly unsafe country to live in. Harrowingly enough, amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic, violent crime, in particular, is not letting up.
Over the years, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) has been working with communities to understand violence and to address its consequences.
Its research has shown that some of the key factors leading to violence are high levels of inequality, unemployment, poverty, exposure to violence, lack of social cohesion, impunity and patriarchy. All of these factors provide a toxic recipe, particularly for violence against women and girls.
At the core of GBV is patriarchy. We have been socialised in a way to view men as breadwinners, protectors and heads of the family. When these expectations are not met, the indignity of poverty and the inability to fulfil unrealistic stereotypes take their toll, and some men resort to violence – with women and girls finding themselves at the receiving end of this terrible violence.
When these battered women seek justice through the police, they are not always taken seriously. I have been working as a community facilitator in Marikana since 2012. Recently, we heard stories of two women raped in the area.
One of the rape survivors said that when she went to report her violation, the police sent her away, telling her return the next day. It is cases such as these that need to be treated with sensitivity and the urgency that they deserve.
Just as Minister Cele has said in the past, the South African Police Services (SAPS) officers should desist from acting as if they are mediators.
Their task is to enforce law and order. When the police do not do justice to their mandate when helping GBV survivors, it sends a dissuading message to women out there that GBV is not taken seriously. This aids impunity to thrive and maintains high GBV crime levels in the country.
As the level of crime stays high and confidence in the police erodes, the issues of reporting (or lack thereof) are likely to become more intractable.
This could be influenced by fear of reprisals by victims or apathy that has set in because of a lack of confidence in the state organs. Related to this anomaly is the likelihood of community members’ normalisation of violence.
Many South Africans seem to have developed numbness as a form of cushioning themselves from the psychological impact of violence that they witness in their surroundings.
The other reaction to the combination of high crime and lack of confidence in state structures is the rise of vigilantism. Either response presents a spiral of worsening state-community relations.
It is common cause that the impact of violence can be profound on individuals and, by extension, their communities.
Among other things, fear, despair, self-blame, guilt, loss of concentration and helplessness grip the entire communities because of violence. More so on women and children.
These feelings are compounded by the coronavirus pandemic and all the restrictive measures the government employs to curb its spread.
Moving forward, all sectors of government need to understand their role in addressing the causes and consequences of crime. Condemning GBV in the “strongest possible terms” is merely the beginning. Justice must be seen to be done – both in terms of social justice that prevents crime and criminal justice that responds to it.
The more South Africans see the government acting proactively to build safety and responsibility against rogue elements within and outside of its ranks, the greater the possibility that citizens will regain confidence in it. That way, more GBV survivors will be comfortable reporting violations against them at police stations that value their safety and dignity in South Africa.
“At the core of GBV is patriarchy.