Pretoria West police put spotlight on GBV ahead of festive season
GBV goes beyond physical, it also includes financial, emotional and sexual abuse.
The Pretoria West Police and NGO Youth Leadership Programme (YLP) are raising GBV awareness in communities as the festive season approaches.
The well-known scourge of gender-based violence and Femicide (GBVF) continues to plague citizens nationwide with the capital being no exception.
During recent interviews, the stakeholders described GBVF as an issue that can never stop being addressed as crime stats continue to indicate its presence in everyday life.
YLP founder Pastor Clement Chauke said more victims should come forward when abuse is inflicted on them.
“Tshwane is experiencing a high rate of femicide. A lot of cases were reported this year alone, especially in Soshanguve and Hammanskraal. Boys from the township were raised believing that we are superior to women which has brought about gender inequality. Once your mind is fixated on that kind of thinking, it grows to the extent of abuse and violating another human being’s rights,” said Chauke.
Chauke explained the different forms of abuse including physical, emotional, financial, and sexual among others. He also stressed that laws and punishments for offenders need to be intensified.
“South Africa is regarded as the capital of rape unfortunately and that says a lot about the current state of the laws we have, we can have a law but lack the enforcement. In countries like India, UAE and China, you can be put to death for raping someone. We need deterrents that would make a person think before abusing or sexually assaulting someone. If the legal consequences are extreme enough, one would think twice before committing such acts,” Chauke said.
The spokesperson for the Pretoria West SAPS, Constable Sibongile Vuma believes that if communities can come together and stop hiding behind societal norms, GBV can be snuffed out.
“The rise of GBV in South Africa has become an alarming issue. GBV is one of the pandemics that we cannot begin to overcome if we don’t become active in fighting against it. Our communities need to come together as a collective to raise awareness about GBV and encourage victims to speak about it,” Vuma said.
Vuma further spoke out about how GBV cases can be reported and also mentioned that at different police stations. There are victim-friendly rooms where victims can receive free counselling from social workers.
The stakeholders have also visited schools such as Lotus Secondary School, Tshwane TVET College, and Fusion Secondary just to name a few this year, covering topics such as GBV as well as crime and substance abuse.
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