NELSVILLE – Lt Thokozani Zungu the detectives’s branch commander in White River
urged members of the community to watch over each other and report abuse even if
does not directly affects them.
“We are saying no to the abuse of women and
children 365 days a year and seven days a week, we are saying don’t look away
even if it’s not occurring to you, if abuse is happening in your neighbourhood
or places of work you have a legal duty to report it to 112, 10111 or at any
police station nearer to you,” he said when speaking during the recently held 16
Days of Activism against the abuse of women and children.
The event was also
attended by representatives from Child Welfare, National Institute for Crime
Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders ( Nicro) , Police and Prisons
Civil Rights Union (Popru), African National Council on
Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (SANCA), Commission of gender equality
and other non-government organisation, who talked at length on different forms
of abuse and on what can be done to amicable deal with it.
“If a man does not
support his family, this is abuse, imagine if a child leaves home to school on
an empty stomach, there is a possibility that he or she might not reach school
and girls might end up being abused by older men promising to buy them food,” a
speaker said.
Speaker after speaker also called on the police and the justice
system of the country to be more harsher when dealing with abusers of
children.
“Let’s report them no matter how closely related they are to the
family. Let’s protect our children who are the future of this country. Ladies
protect your children not your marriages against fathers who sexually abuse
them,” added another speaker.
It was also heard that the leading cause of
abuse in the province is the use of drugs followed by alcohol.
The cluster
commander Brigadier Dorah Xaba warned women against the growing tendency of
withdrawing charges against their husbands and boyfriends.
“It worries me to
see a woman coming to the police station to say she had been assaulted by her
husband and then two days later she comes smiling to withdraw the charges. Then
you ask yourself if she was really raped or assaulted?” questioned Xaba.
“Why
would you withdraw a charge if you were raped and the suspect is arrested,?” she
added.