Police committee chair calls for urgent processing of Bills meant to address GBV
Petterson says that the most important amendment that must be fast-tracked is the one that ensures that perpetrators of GBV are not granted bail.
Demonstrators take part in a march against gender-based violence, 29 August 2020, at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Demonstrations also took place around South Africa including Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban. South African femicide rates are five times the global average according to statistics South Africa. Picture: Michel Bega
The chairperson of the parliamentary committee on police, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has urged that Bills meant to address gender-based violence (GBV) should urgently be amended, with the priority being amending the one that ensures perpetrators of GBV are not granted bail.
Pettersson said she welcomed the arrest of a suspect in the Eastern Cape axe murders of a 42-year-old mother and her five children.
READ MORE: Cele hails arrest of suspect in E Cape axe murder of mother, children
Petterson was of the view that the swift arrest of the suspect will “inevitably restore hope among South Africans” that the country’s police are capable of effective and rapid investigations.
“We welcome the rapid response to this heinous crime that perpetuates the crisis of gender-based-violence (GBV) in South Africa. We urge the investigators to work in collaboration with the National Prosecuting Authority, to ensure that the case against the suspect is water-tight for effective and successful prosecution,” Pettersson said.
Pettersson further expressed her concern over the continuing maiming of women and children.
“As legislators, we must urgently move to process the three new amendment Bills tabled in parliament in the fight against the scourge of GBV,” Pettersson said.
Petterson suggested that the most important amendment that must be fast-tracked is the one that ensures that perpetrators of GBV are not granted bail “and that they must rot in jail”.
“We need to have a societal wide recommitment to fighting this scourge. Our society must find ways to deal effectively with the predisposition of violence against women,” Pettersson said.
Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu
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