Gender-based violence still under-reported

Despite numerous protocols and policies implemented to curb gender-based violence such as the 16 Days of Activism against women and children abuse, victims continue to demonstrate timidity in reporting crimes such as rape.

Some rape survivors are afraid to approach police stations to report sexual crimes due to shortage of women female police officers with whom it would be easier for especially women to confide in rather than their male counterparts.

Few women polled by The Weekly complained that some male police officers intimidate them when they open rape cases while others trivialise their ordeal. Dipuo Tshabalala, a member of POPCRU who is deployed at the QwaQwa police station, admitted that shortage of female police officers makes it difficult for rape victims to come forward and report cases.

“It is very difficult to relate incidents of rape to a policeman who is himself an image of the perpetrator. Even when a policeman is willing to assist, it becomes a mountain to climb for a victim to report being raped by a man to another man.

“We can even swap roles in order to accommodate the needs of rape survivors,” said Tshabalala during the observance of 16 Days of Activism event organised by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in QwaQwa.

Modiehi Mofokeng, a member of Democratic Nursing Organisation (DENOSA) of South Africa, said rape is still escalating despite efforts by the justice system to impose harsh sentences on the perpetrators.

“A day does not pass without us treating rape survivors, most of whom are the youth and the elderly. It is so sad to see them going through such trauma.”

Mofokeng has suggested that more focus be placed on equipping the young women with skills and techniques to protect themselves from attackers.

A member of the South Africa Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), Mojalefa Meya, hailed the event as informative and suggested that more such platforms should be created for women to share their experiences and solutions to confront the rape scourge.

Cosatu regional chairperson, Masabata Xaba, encouraged women to support each other to ascent to decision-making positions in government and the private sector.

“Opportunities are there for women, but we do not use them. Instead, we continue to vote men to decision-making positions. Women must stand up and be candidates and stop being mere voters.”