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DA calls for harsher sentences for GBV crimes

GBV Violence
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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape has called for harsh sentences for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) crimes committed. It was reacting to the rape of an 82-year-old woman at Noupoort over the weekend.

The party’s provincial spokesperson on gender, Priscilla Isaacs is urging the South African Police Service (SAPS) to ensure that they build a watertight case against the perpetrator.

“Only when perpetrators of such crimes start to realize that there is no place in society for their evil deeds by receiving fitting punishment, will we start to turn the tide against sexual violence, give victims the confidence to report all cases and achieve a decrease in actual incidents occurring. We need to stand together against the GBV pandemic, just like we are standing against the pandemic of COVID-19.”

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a disabled 52 -year-old woman in Acornhoek Mpumalanga. The police say the woman was asleep in her house in Cottondale Trust when she was woken up by a man who threatened to kill her and then raped her.

The woman managed to escape, screamed for help and was rescued by her brother.

Mpumalanga police say the brother found the suspect asleep in the woman’s bedroom, but he managed to run away.

The man was later arrested and is expected to appear in court soon.

‘More could have been done to curb GBV over lockdown period’

Organisations advocating for the rights of Gender-Based Violence victims are concerned about the alarming increase in violent incidents since the lockdown began in South Africa.

The organisation’s Secretary General Themba Masango says the country could have done more to prevent this from happening.

Masango says, “It was predicted and the calls were made to the powers that are responsible for the most vulnerable in our society who are locked in with their abusers and perpetrators. Unfortunately, it looks like the calls landed on deaf ears as thousands of calls have been put in with the police with regards to Gender-Based Violence.”

Masango elaborates further below:

Gender-Based Violence victims urged to speak up during lockdown

The increasing number of Gender-Based Violence cases against women and children during the nationwide lockdown is alarming. It is no secret that women and children who live with domestic violence perpetrators have no escape from their abusers during the lockdown.

But the question is: how do you report GBV crimes during the lockdown?

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, GBV against women has become a global problem.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says in a video message that since restrictions were imposed by countries across the world to combat the coronavirus, women and girls were increasingly facing violence, “where they should be safest: in their own homes.”

Below is a video of Gender-Based Violence in numbers:

 

 

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