Rape kit shortage to be resolved
“We began to deliver them [rape kits] in August and they will all be delivered by 24 October,” minister Bheki Cele said earlier this week.
The recent shortage of paediatric and adult rape kits will be resolved by next week, the police minister has said.
“We began to deliver them [rape kits] in August and they will all be delivered by 24 October,” minister Bheki Cele said earlier this week.
He made the announcement as he addressed the media and members of the public in the city centre.
“We are very glad we signed a three-year contract so we don’t encounter the problems we encountered in the past,” Cele said.
Police stations in the north of Pretoria that were affected by the shortage of the kits were Kameeldrift, Pretoria North and Sinoville.
The information was made available to DA shadow police minister Andrew Whitfield by national commissioner General Khehla Sitole in August when he [Whitfield] asked about their national availability.
READ MORE: North man gets life sentence for multiple rapes
Cele made the announcement during the final part of a march against the ongoing scourge of gender-based violence at the Jubilee Park in Sunnyside.
He also highlighted that the police should refrain from “acting as fashion designers or advisers through victimising women according to what they were wearing”.
“When violently attacked, it is not your business to tell a woman that her skirt might be too short.”
Cele added police stations were the first sanctuary for women victims of crime and that the job of the police officers was to protect members of the public and endeavour to make the necessary arrest.
“Your job is to respond and respond quickly.”
READ MORE: North man faces eight rape charges
According to the information provided to Rekord, there were zero paediatric and adult rape kits available at all three stations between 31 March and 21 July 2019.
Whitfield said the shortage of the rape kits was due to a delay in the awarding of the tender.
He alleged that 76% of police stations in the country did not have adult rape kits while 69% did not have paediatric kits.
“This issue has to do with the lives and dignity of the women and children of our country, the current figures indicate that SAPS has run short of over 128 000 kits with only 18 000 adult rape kits in circulation in South Africa,” Whitfield said.
He added the shortage was a “gross injustice” to those who had been raped.
“Without these kits, evidence in reported cases cannot be collected [and] without evidence the ability to successfully prosecute rapists diminishes drastically,” Whitfield said.
He added that no one deserved to become a victim of sexual violence and everything possible should be done to eradicate the crime.
READ MORE: BREAKING NEWS: Dros rape accused pleads guilty
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
Rekord East
Rekord North
Rekord Centurion
Rekord Moot
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
