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.
Civil rights movement #NotInMyName says tens of thousands of complaints of gender based violence have been reported and are expected to rise further.
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…”
“I believe we could have done more should the government listened to NGOs and people on the ground,” added Masango.
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.”
