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Government officials weigh in on GBV outreach programme to raise awareness in Lusikisiki

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The Arts and Culture Department has hosted a gender-based violence outreach programme in the Pondoland town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.

The last day of the event saw several deputy ministers engaging traditional leaders and community members. The programme aims to find ways of curbing gender-based violence that is prevalent in the area.

For two years, Lusikisiki has been dubbed the rape capital of the country. Recent statistics show that the Lusikisiki police station recorded the highest number of rape cases.

Elderly women are also killed allegedly for practicing witchcraft.  Concerned women are confident that the intervention will bring change. But they accuse the police and the justice system of failing them.

Ivy Lumkwana and Nowongile Maziphelele say they are now pinning their hopes on traditional leadership.

“Something definitely will change now to show that the government has intervened to fight this crime. We do not sleep at night. These boys break-in, rape elderly women. Many a time the elderly get killed for suspicion of practicing witchcraft. They even kill young girls,” says Ivy Lumkwana.

Nowongile Maziphelele adds, “They are useless. We end up taking cases to traditional leaders because they take action and impose punishments on perpetrators. The police do not treat us right. They always take the side of criminals while our daughters and grandmothers die painful deaths for nothing.”

But the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery has defended the department.

“It’s the courts, the judicial officers who give the sentences. So that’s something that’s entirely within their jurisdiction. From the point of view of parliament, of government or parliament particularly, parliament can pass laws which set minimum sentences that a person who’s convicted of a particular crime shouldn’t get a lesser sentence than X or Y.”

Government has raised concern about the rising number of sexual assault cases as well as domestic violence in the Pondoland town.

Eastern Cape Arts and Culture MEC, Fezeka Nkomonye says they plan to engage rural communities and raise awareness about the social ills they face.

“We have agreed that one way of dealing with this scourge is to take these kinds of programs to the rural areas, to the kingdoms, so that we are able to reach the perpetrators as well as those who shy away when we discuss these issues. But also, through the department of agriculture and social development, we are engaging on programs of food security, gardening as well as encouraging young people, those that are not in employment and not in education to go back to school,” says Nkomonye.

Traditional leadership has welcomed this initiative. Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders, Nosandi Mhlauli believes more interventions are necessary.

“We believe in restorative justice because even as we are talking about the issues of gender-based violence, we need to focus on the issues of families, strengthening family structures going forward,” says Nosandi Mhlauli.

Through the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, the provincial government plans to come up with programmes that will assist in developing rural women and youth, as a way to curb social problems such as crime and poverty.

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