(Parliamentary debate on the need for a renewed focus and new strategies to tackle gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) as a national crisis)
If our moral compass is not reset, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) will remain a national crisis in South Africa.
The brutal murder of a student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, on 24 August 2019 in a Cape Town post office, situated between a police station and a high school, sparked the “Am I Next” movement and GBV was declared a crisis.
Although a national strategic plan costing R1,6 billion was launched along with undertakings to implement harsher sentences and improve sexual offences courts, the desired results are not achieved. Millions of women and children are still victimised and the violence continues unabated.
Current strategies fail due to poor implementation and systemic challenges. Backlogs in investigations, DNA testing and court cases undermine justice, while police stations and courts are inefficient.
A holistic approach is needed, involving all government departments and spheres. This not only requires improved policing and prosecution, but also providing access to healthcare for victims, empowering education for women to break the cycle of violence, and training for boys and men.
Economic growth and job creation are also critical, as unemployment fuels social ills such as drug abuse and violence.
It is not only men who commit these crimes. One example is the deaths of two young girls, Nada Jane Chillita and Krisley Dirker, allegedly at the hands of women, and Joshlin Smith, who was reportedly trafficked by her mother.
What a crying shame: women waging war on women and children.
How disturbed must one be to assault a two- or four-year-old so brutally that it causes her death, sell your own child, rape and murder an eight-day-old baby because her crying annoyed you, or force yourself on a woman because satisfying your urges is more important than her will and bodily integrity?
All this points to a deeper moral crisis in our society – a loss of values, compassion and respect.
South Africa’s women and children deserve to live in a society where their safety and dignity are guaranteed – not a future plagued by the question “Am I next?”
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