Police minister Bheki Cele spearheads fight against GBV on the Bluff

Leading by example in heeding the call to curb crime in local communities was Minister of Police and National Executive Committee (NEC) member of the ANC, Bheki Cele, who paid a visit to the Bluff on Saturday, 28 November.

The purpose of the visit was to address the issues of crime in the community with a specific focus on Gender Based Violence (GBV), in keeping with 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse, which remains a widespread challenge across the racial and cultural spectrum in the country.

“We are still reeling from shock of the brutal murder of an Eastern Cape family where a 32-year old Zimbabwean man hacked and killed his wife and five children. He tried to flee the country but we eventually caught him and arrested him. He is in custody. This is one of many horrific incidents which proves that there is something very wrong with men in our society and we need to all come to an agreement that this needs to be addressed and corrected.

“We can’t have men who derive pleasure from the harassment of women. We can’t have men who get drunk and use women as their punching bags. Men need to be reminded that women are not for their pleasure. They are human beings who are fully-fledged and must be given the space to live and flourish,” said Cele, calling on men to stop violence against women and children.

He further called on all police members to take reports of abuse and harassment seriously. “It’s not your job to negotiate with the victim; your job is to arrest the perpetrator.”

Chants and calls to put an end to abuse echoed far and wide, as politicians and community members joined forces to raise awareness in a walkabout along Tara Road. The walk commenced at the ANC offices, continued down Tara Road and ended opposite Oxford Freshmarket.

“This was an ANC programme for the Bluff branch, which served as a response to the call made by our president for communities to stand up and speak loudly against crime and abuse. It is important for us to not only do the talking when it comes to these kinds of injustices, but to also be seen acting against these issues. Although levels of crime and GBV in our community of the Bluff may seem relatively low, there was however a concerning incident a few years back where there were reports of a rise in girls who were victims of rape.

“Even if the numbers are not that alarming, we don’t know how women are being treated. The truth is, we won’t always be aware of what happens behind closed doors in different households. Therefore, we felt it was important that our community take a stand and send a strong message through this initiative where we welcomed all community members to join us. For the ANC Bluff branch, fighting GBV is on top of our agenda,” said Thabane Nyawose, ward 66 branch secretary and Bluff resident.

WATCH: Minister Cele spearheads fight against GBV