Station commander at Douglasdale Police Station, Brigadier Veeshani Arikum believes that educating members of the public, especially the younger generation about gender-based violence (GBV) can help reduce cases of the scourge.
She said the government’s efforts to reduce and prevent crime against women and children were not yielding results.
Arikum said the withdrawal of gender-based violence (GBV) related to a case by victims of the scourge was one of the challenges faced by police and courts in South Africa.
“Crime against women and children is an everyday occurrence. Therefore, it should be highlighted every day not just during the 16 days a year. It is a scourge faced by many victims on a daily basis where women are assaulted, abused mentally, and financially.”
“A big challenge that the police and the court face is the withdrawal of cases in domestic-related violence cases. As a result of this, the vicious cycle of domestic violence continues. The excessive use and abuse of liquor was also identified as one of the reasons behind rising numbers of GBV cases.”
She said in an effort to curb the scourge of GBV society, parliament passed GBV Acts of 2021.
“On the August 5, 2022, The Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2021 came into operation. The Act is part of the so-called ‘GBV Acts’ that were passed in parliament in 2021 to strengthen the addressing of gender based violence in the country.”
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