Residents called to report gender based violence
“It is not only the responsibility of the police to identify cases of abuse but they are here to enforce and uphold the law."
Tsakane – Residents were encouraged to speak out and report gender-based violence during an event the Ekurhuleni East Cluster held at the Tsakane Stadium last Friday.
The event was hosted in response to the spate of gender-based violence cases reported to the nine police stations of the Ekurhuleni East Cluster.
Major General Girly Mbele from the Ekurhuleni East Cluster says they are concerned about the high rate of gender violence within the cluster.
“Our statistics show that we have the most cases of gender violence which include domestic violence, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, harassment and abuse.
“We are also concerned about the number of cases which are reported over the weekend but are withdrawn on the Monday because this means perpetrators continue to commit the crimes,” she says.
Mbele says she is calling on residents to report cases. They must not try to solve them by themselves or take the law into their own hands.
“We have identified that there are parents and family members who chose to sweep cases of rape and abuse under the carpet and refuse to report them.
“It is wrong and those who are found to be involved in concealing the crime will be charged accordingly,” she says.
Const Media Khoza says people who experience gender-based violence are mainly women and children.
“It is not only the responsibility of the police to identify cases of abuse although they are here to enforce and uphold the law.
“We are calling on neighbours who can identify cases of abuse and domestic violence to come forward and report them.
“Our doors are always open to those affected or infected; we have different officers in various offices within the force who are qualified to deal with different issues.
“It is not always where the victim has to open a case but he or she may do so wherever help is offered,” she says.
Khoza says as a society we need to work hand in glove to fight crime and violence in communities.
“We will not be able to fight this without the help of the community so we should go back to the notion that it takes a village to raise a child,” she says.
