Police turn deaf ear on woman’s plea for help

TO serve and protect may be the motto of the South African Police Services, but this wasn’t the case when a 22-year-old woman flagged down a police vehicle in the early hours of Monday morning to ask for help after she became aware of a man following her.

The young woman, who asked not to be named, lives in Glenwood with her mother. She had worked a 2pm to 11pm shift at Gateway and caught the last taxi home. The taxi dropped her off at the corner of Berea and Bulwer Roads.

While walking towards Stella Sports Club the woman became nervous and began running. She noticed a man walking towards her and nervously crossed the road to avoid him. The man followed her.

“I was scared he was going to mug me and moved into the middle of the road and tried to flag down a car for help,” she said. Sadly, no one stopped, but she felt a sense of relief when a police vehicle came past. “I flagged down the police vehilce. There was a policeman in the driver’s seat and a policewoman in the passenger seat. I told them I was scared because there was a man following and asked them to help me.”

The policeman’s reply shocked the woman. “He asked me why I was trying to make a fool out of him. He accused me of being a postitute and said they didn’t like having young girls trying to make a quick buck [in the area] and then drove off.”

Fortunately, the man who had been following her ran off when he saw her talking to the police. “I was so scared, I just ran and ran until I got to Jack Rabbits where a security guard on patrol came forward. He had seen what had happened and because he knew me from the Glenwood area, he said he would take me home.”

The woman said, after the police vehicle had driven off, they drove past her again in Nicholson Road. “When they stopped I asked them why they didn’t help me. I said they were supposed to protect me,” she said. The policeman dismissed her saying, “You don’t pay us.”

“My daughter was dressed in work clothes and wearing a hoodie over her clothes and was also carrying a bag. She wasn’t dressed provocatively for them to have mistaken her for a sex worker,” said her mother who is angry over the manner in which her daughter was treated. “I phoned Umbilo SAPS after my daughter got home to take the matter further, but they just told me that no policewoman was on patrol at the time this took place. What good are the police to us if they don’t help us when we need them,” she said.

Sergeant Beverly Manqele, Communications Officer at Umbilo SAPS said the area was a well known red light district, but did not understand how the officers could have left the woman when she needed help.

“That behaviour is not acceptable. Police officers should conduct themselves in a professional manner. Their duty is is to protect and assist the public in line with women rights, even if it was a prostitute, they should be treated with respect and dignity. If they feel she was loitering they could arrest her but not verbally abuse community members.”

Manqele said in future any victims of such incidents should take the name of the officers down and registration of the vehicle. “Misconduct charges can be brought against the officers and disciplinary action could be taken against them. On another note, walking alone at night is very dangerous and the woman should try to arrange alternate transport arrangements or get friends to walk with her as she could be vulnerable to crime,” she said.

Ward Councillor Nicole Graham was outraged upon hearing about the incident.

“I think it is unacceptable that the police would leave a woman stranded late at night asking for assistance. They are obligated to help the public and not judge who to and who not to assist. It is completely unacceptable, they cannot categorise who should get police assistance.”

Graham added that she received many calls from upset women being propositioned by men mistaking them for prostitutes while walking to the shop or just being in the neighbourhood. “Now when police stereotype women in this way it can’t go on and something must be done. They have no grounds to refuse assistance to someone who asks for it,” she said.