‘Enough is enough’ as public servants march against violence

Hundreds of government employees expressed their anger and frustration at gender-gased violence during a march in the Pretoria CBD on Friday.

The employees gathered at Church square to march to the Union Buildings to recommit themselves to the fight against gender-based violence.

Some among them chanted: “One is gatvol of gender based violence”.

Minister of women, youth and persons with disabilities Maite-Nkoana Mashabane said gender-based violence perpetrators deserved no space in government offices.

“We are not going to harbour perpetrators. They will not take cover in our offices.”

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She said government had to provide safe and healthy working environment.

“We have heard shocking stories of how unsafe public service (offices) is to young women. There are reports of sex for jobs,” Mashabane said.

She said young women who were qualified and due for promotion, were often demanded to sleep with their superiors in government to receive the new opportunity.

“I don’t believe this, this must stop now. We are calling on all those who endure such abuse at workplaces to come out and report this.”

Mashabane said they could not eradicate violence in the workplace if they could not hold perpetrators accountable.

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“No person has the right to turn a public servant into a sex slave.”

She said women and children had no safe spaces in the country.

“Workplaces have turned into war zones.

“Nurses and doctors are raped at their workplaces, learners are being raped and harassed at schools. Enough is enough.”

She said gender based violence could not be ended in society if they did not start in government, where they had control.

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The national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi said children were mostly attacked and vulnerable to violence in communities.

“The sad reality is that 100 cases of rape are reported to police every single day, 41 percent of these are children,” Batohi said.

Batohi said the criminal justice system had an important role to play.

“We are not going to stand by and allow women and children to be abused any longer.”

Batohi said she had met with the national commissioner of police and there was a strategy put in place on how they could collectively make sure that prosecutors and investigators were dedicated to get gender-based perpetrators behind bars.

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“Those who commit these crimes will face the full brunt of the law.

“We cannot be here again in a year or two, still chanting the same chants.”

The march was held by public servants to seek to reinforce president Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for all sectors of society to work together to stop the violence and the killing of women and children.

Public servants and government leaders also took a pledge in line with public service policies that offer recourse for sexual harassment in the workplace, victimisation and unsafe working conditions.

“The public service has a range of laws, policies, programmes and interventions in place across all sectors to address various forms of gender-based violence and the needs of vulnerable groups,” said Phumla Williams GCIS acting director-general.

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Ramaphosa also recently called for an extraordinary and immediate response to the scourge of gender- based violence and femicide by all members of the society.

“Government has also committed resources in this financial year to the comprehensive response to the national crisis as part of emergency measures to combat the violence and ensure enhancement of the implementation of the outcomes of the 2018 presidential summit of GBV,” said Williams.

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