Country in grip of 'GBV pandemic' – President

During his address on the easing of the lockdown last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa tackled another ‘another pandemic’ facing the country – gender-based violence (GBV). According to a report on the IoL site, Ramaphosa said as a father and a husband he was appalled at the war being waged against women and children. ‘These rapists and killers walk among us. They are in our communities. They are our fathers, our brothers, our sons and our friends; violent men with utterly no regard for the sanctity of human life. Over the past few weeks no fewer than 21 women and children have been murdered.’ He added: ‘Their killers thought they could silence them. But we will not forget them and we will speak for them where they cannot. We will speak for Tshegofatso Pule, Naledi Phangindawo, Nompumelelo Tshaka, Nomfazi Gabada, Nwabisa Mgwandela, Altecia Kortjie and Lindelwa Peni, all young women who were killed by men. We will speak for the 89-year-old grandmother who was killed in an old age home in Queenstown, the 79-year-old grandmother who was killed in Brakpan and the elderly woman who was raped in KwaSwayimane in KZN. We will speak for the innocent souls of Tshegofatso Pule’s unborn daughter who had already been given a name, six-year-old Raynecia Kotjie and the six-year-old child found dead in the veld in KZN. They are not just statistics. They have names and they had families and friends,’ Ramaphosa said.

He also announced the launch of a National Strategic Plan (reported in the Legalbrief Today Policy Watch yesterday) which will guide the country's fight against GBV. He also noted 13 Regional Courts have been upgraded into sexual offences courts, says the IoL report. ‘To support the work of law-enforcement, 7 000 evidence collection kits have been distributed regularly to every police station in the country and there are now over 1 000 survivor friendly rooms at police stations. Many police, prosecutors, magistrates and policymakers have undergone sensitivity and awareness training, and over 3 000 government employees who work with children and mentally disabled persons have been checked against the National Register of Sex Offenders,’ he said. Ramaphosa noted legislative amendments have been prepared around, among other things, minimum sentencing in cases of GBV, bail conditions for suspects, and greater protection for women who are victims of intimate partner violence.