by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE murder of 989 women, attempted killing of 1 277 others as well as assault of over 3 000 and rape of 10 000 females signals a serious problem in South Africa.
The statistics are for the period July and September this year.
Statistics were released last week, ahead of the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children.
President Cyril Ramaphosa believes since men are the main perpetrators, they should be part of the solution.
“Not even children, our most vulnerable citizens and most deserving of our care and protection, were spared,” the president said.
In the six months to September 2022, more than 500 children were killed.
Ramaphosa nonetheless said the latest crime statistics show some of the successes of the criminal justice system in bringing perpetrators to book.
In the reporting period, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units arrested over 4 000 alleged perpetrators of gender-based violence and 410 alleged rapists were traced and arrested.
More than 17 000 trial-ready GBV cases were processed by teams of the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The courts are also handing down heavier sentences to perpetrators.
“While we should be encouraged that many of the perpetrators are not being allowed to get away with their crimes, our foremost task is to prevent men and boys from becoming abusers in the first place,” Ramaphosa said.
The president pledged his readiness to participate in men’s dialogues.
“The men of South Africa owe it to the women and children of this country to take up the struggle against gender-based violence,” Ramaphosa said.
– CAJ News