As South Africa ushers in Women’s Month, a new predator is preying on women in the country, leaving them with financial and psychological scars.
This beast comes in the form of men, mostly foreign nationals, who initially promise the lovestruck women heaven and Earth.
These smooth talkers convince them to take out huge bank loans or resign from work and cash in pension and provident policies. The men then pocket the money and disappear.
The victims, often gainfully employed single mothers, are approached by the men who quickly profess love and promise them dream marriages.
Most of the scammed victims were introduced to fake rituals where they were taken into “prayer rooms” and heard voices of “ancestors” promising them truckloads of money.
The women were coaxed to resign from work or take out loans and bring the money to the boyfriends, who then vanished without a trace, often pretending to be travelling for business. Their phone numbers are deactivated, leaving the women scrambling to make a living and with a loan to repay.
Gender-based violence is a profound and widespread problem in South Africa and can be physical, sexual, emotional, financial or structural; it can be perpetrated by intimate partners, acquaintances, strangers and institutions.
When the perpetrators are family, intimate partners or acquaintances, police are often able to arrest them and ensure they are prosecuted.
However, with this new wave of gender-based violence, it is virtually impossible to trace these men, who probably use fake IDs anyway.
When attempting to find the men at the places the women knew as their homes, they always find these vacant.
As police and communities continue in the battle against the most common forms of gender-based violence, we urge them to do all it takes to protect our women from these monsters on two feet.
Cape Times