Female professionals are protecting their abusers and hardly report domestic violence cases.
This according to the MEC for the Department of Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, who shared this information while unveiling the various programmes that the province will embark on during the 16 Days of Activism of no violence against women and children.
“They [female professionals] think it’s embarrassing to rock up at a police station to report domestic violence, and some of them don’t want to tarnish the image of their partners and families,” Nkosi-Malobane said, adding that it was time this kind of behaviour is dealt with.
“Women need to understand that domestic violence and abuse knows no class or status, if they are abused, they must report the abuser to the police.”
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Nkosi-Malobane also highlighted that the femicide rate in South Africa is five times higher than the global average. She mentioned that most of Gauteng’s 16 Days of Activism programmes are aimed at men. “Men are the majority perpetrators of violence against women and children and it is critical that we involve them as we fight this scourge in order to break the cycle of violence. And by doing so, we will help stop men from being repeat offenders. It has been stated in various studies that abusers are likely to repeat their abusive behaviour if they are not subjected to a criminal justice system and diversion prgrammes.”
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The MEC encouraged women who experience any form of abuse to report the matter to the police and not to withdraw cases but allow the law to take its course. She said the withdrawal of cases was another challenge that they had while trying to address domestic violence. On a positive note, though, the MEC said they managed to ring-fence about 500 cases of domestic violence. “With the help of our law enforcement agencies and other social partners, we managed to give all the necessary support to victims and we will ensure that justice is served.”
Other key activities that the province will embark on this year include the Gauteng Premier’s fundraising event to raise funds for the gender-based violence intervention programme – the Lesbian Gay, Bisexual Transgender Intersex (LGBTI) Ntirhisano dialogue, which will, among other things, focus on ways to accelerate transformation, build social cohesion and mobilise for safer communities; the Girl-eulogy Empowerment Session, where the MEC will host a dialogue with graduates and young professional women on abuse; and the Little Heroes summit, which will be focused on celebrating the victory of young survivors for taking a stand against abuse in a court of law. Some of the survivors are said to be serial rape victims.
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