Incidents of violence, especially domestic violence, tend to escalate during the festive season, resulting in deaths and other serious outcomes.
In an exclusive interview with the Herald, Sibongile Langa, a counsellor at the Victims Support Centre at the Randfontein Police Station said money, alcohol and even drugs are at the root of the problem.
“The problem during this time of the year is that many people will have their annual bonuses and will abandon their families as bread-winners, going to parties to waste their hard-earned money on alcohol.
Sibongile explained that in many cases, violence often starts when bread-winners are confronted by their dependents, resulting in tensions.
“Unfortunately, sometimes those with the money end up getting drunk and becoming easy targets for robberies, which causes more tensions within their families, especially their partners,” Sibongile said.
Sibongile advised that people who have money, or get their annual bonuses, should not neglect their families.
“People can handle this situation better by talking about the things that are needed in their homes before they spend their money on parties,” she said.
She also said the issue is exacerbated by the fact that there are many illegal outlets for alcohol that are not regulated and these places tend to stay open almost the entire night.
“You find people in these places staying up until the next day, becoming more susceptible to violence and bad behaviour.”
Moses Soobe, acting manager of The Life Esidimeni Randfontein Centre said during the festive season more violence can be seen among drug addicts, who may feel neglected.
“Most of our addicts experience strained relationships with their families because they have stolen from them and hurt them while they were using illegal substances. At this time of the year, they tend to use more of these illegal substances, because they use drugs to escape reality.
Moses said violence is one thing they use to protect themselves. “During this period they are emotionally confused, and feel as though they have been rejected. They can be quite dangerous because they never consider the consequences of their actions, because they have have given up on life,” Moses said.
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