DA Shadow MMC for Community Development, councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku has yet again intervened in a gender-based violence case that allegedly received very little attention from the police.
In a statement Belinda said as a representative of the DA, she had to step in to help the victim from Cosmo City who was allegedly ignored when she reported the case.
“A victim of GBV went to her local police station to report the incident. Instead of being protected, she was turned away. According to them, this was a ‘family matter’ that didn’t require police intervention,” she claimed.
“The motive behind their refusal became clear when we learnt that the perpetrator is a police officer,” she said, adding that he clearly enjoyed the protection of his colleagues.
“Out of desperation, the victim turned to me, the DA councillor for help. According to the victim the offender threatened to kill her if she attempted to have him prosecuted,” she claimed.
Belinda explained that due to the shocking nature of the matter, they were forced to intervene.
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“After a long appalling wait, the victim obtained a protection order. We do not deem this to be a victory – rather we see this as a monumental failure. This country failed this woman. She lives in a country where 102 women get assaulted by their partners every day. She lives in a country where a woman is murdered by her boyfriend or husband every 12 hours,” Belinda lamented.
She highlighted that these statistics are horrifying, “… but judging by this incident, we can assume that these numbers don’t reflect reality. It should never be necessary for a political party to step in before the police take a victim seriously,” she said.
“The DA calls on the government to reinstate specialised GBV units. These units have the knowledge and training to deal with GBV cases. They will also add another layer of accountability.
“The party stands with every woman and child who are victims of violence. If we have to stand in line with you at a police station, we will do that too,” she strongly advised.
Since Cosmo City is served by Honeydew Police Station, the spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan, was asked to comment.
Although unfamiliar with the matter, Muthan said both Honeydew Police Station and their satellite station in Cosmo City treat cases of GBV very seriously, without any favours.
“Whether the victim went to Honeydew or Cosmo City, the victim should have received the necessary assistance because we have more than one police officer who are ever ready to assist complainants, if another was unable. If this matter was reported in Cosmo City, a patrol vehicle would have been contacted to come and attend to the matter,” he explained.
Muthan said GBV is unacceptable, whether it’s perpetrated by a police member or not.
“Since this matter involves a police officer, we take serious note of it and we advise the victim to come to the police station to submit a written complaint,” he advised.
“In an event where the member who was supposed to attend to the complainant did not, we request the victim to come to the station and identify the officer who refused to help so that an investigation can be instituted against the member,” Muthan further advised.
Video: https://www.facebook.com/belinda.echeozonjoku/videos/3335094769871474/
