A memorial service for a 27-year-old Cape Town mother and her 7-year-old daughter was held in Belhar on Thursday night. Residents lit candles in remembrance of mother and daughter and called for an end to the killing of women and children.
The bodies of Altecia Kortje and her daughter, Raynecia, were found in a house in the area last week Friday.
It’s a sad gathering at Cape Flats, a tribute for a young mother and her young daughter. Altecia Kortje’s body was found with multiple stab wounds while Raynecia was found lying on the bathroom floor of their house.
No more than 50 people were allowed inside this venue for the memorial. Residents and family were asked to keep physical distancing. Another group of mourners gathered outside in the street. Their only comfort was tributes from one of the loudspeakers.
The alleged killer was the former partner of Altecia and Raynecia’s father. He is in custody, pending his bail hearing on Monday. The community of Belhar say they want justice and hope the deaths of mother and daughter are not in vain.
Anti-Gender-Based violence activists are calling for laws that protect women:
In the video below, some civil society groups attribute the high number of gender-based violence to the inadequate enforcement of laws and policies.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation says there has been an increase in cases of gender-based violence across the world as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic continues.
According to the UN Health Agency, over 100 women are killed globally every day.
Women have been forced to stay at home as their movement has been restricted, leaving them in the same space as their abusers.
President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Gabriela Cuevas Barron says, “Violence against women has already reached epic proportions in all societies with 137 women killed every day globally by a member of their own family. The level of domestic violence and sexual exploitation further increases as a result of confined living conditions and economic stress.”
In the video below, SABC News takes a closer look at gender-based violence under lockdown in numbers:
