Citizens must unite to stop gender-based violence

The deputy minister of police, Cassel Mathale, has declared gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) a societal problem, and has pleaded with Mpumalanga communities to be actively involved in the fight against this pandemic.

Mathale was speaking during the GBVF and Crime Imbizo at KaMaqhekeza Stadium in Nkomazi on Friday.

According to statistics, this subregion is one of the hardest hit areas, as it has recorded a high number of GBV cases. “Gender-based violence and femicide are worrisome factors that affect everybody in the country. As police, we are doing all we can to defeat this. Community members must also work with the police in order to fight the scourge.

GBVF is a societal problem,” said Mathale. He said the issue of violence is not one directed to women only; there are men who become victims in other instances. Mathale further said society must be re-educated and fine-tuned into changing their attitudes towards the issue of gender-based violence.

“Re-educating society from childhood will make a good contribution towards their attitudes. If you are a boy and are taught to behave like a man at the early stage of your life, then you’d know how to behave and treat women around you. It is only through awareness campaigns and early childhood education that we can get our people to understand how they must treat one another in situations where there are differences,” he said.