Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said gender-based violence has become a national priority crime.
Monday marked the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign, which continues until December 10.
The 16 Days campaign forms the centre point of the government’s 365 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children programme.
Also on Monday, Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu released the second quarter crime statistics, which showed that despite a downward trend in several categories of crime, the murders of women and children remained high.
Speaking during the release of the crime statistics, Minister Mchunu said gender-based violence has become a national priority crime.
He said it “requires our distinct focus, as it continues to devastate families and communities, with a unique set of challenges that demand specialised intervention, thorough investigations, and collaborative solutions”.
The crime statistics showed that despite slight decreases in the number of rape and sexual assault cases recorded by the police, there were still 10191 cases of rape and 1839 cases of sexual assault between July and September.
In the same period, 315 children and 957 women were murdered. Of the 957 women killed, 106 died in domestic violence incidents.
These grim figures suggest that communities need to be playing a more active role in the fight to stop violence against women and children.
During the 16 Days campaign, we urge all citizens to be activists against GBV within their areas of responsibility, be it home, community or work.
We urge every citizen, especially men, to play their part, report abusers and to not look away.
Cape Times
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