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Victims of sexual assault suffer double trauma due to a shortage of rape kits

Madam Speaker,

I previously raised concerns about the SAPS Green Door project, and I am raising it again because we are in the period of 16 Days of Activism of no violence against women and children and in fact against all vulnerable groups.

Over the past weekend, a rape victim went to the Roodepoort police station where she was sent away because the police station did not have any rape kits. The victim then went to three different police stations where none of them had rape kits available and eventually got assistance at a Netcare facility.

Speaker, I want to suggest that Public Safety in collaboration with SAPS and the Department of Social Development should assist the Rapid Response Teams to deal with cases of sexual assault.

There is also a need for sensitivity training of all officials when dealing with sexual cases, particularly the police officers, and all police stations must have rape kits available. All police stations must also have social workers readily available to assist victims of sexual assault and violent crime.

I also want to suggest collaboration between Public Safety and the Department of Health in terms of collecting data on gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual assault, this will help to guide the Public Safety and other departments in directing funding to assist the victims in the future.

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MEC Mazibuko fails the victims and survivors of gender-based violence in Gauteng

 The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is disappointed to learn that the Gauteng Department of Community Safety has consistently failed to roll out the Green Doors meant to ensure that the victims and survivors of gender-based violence receive prompt and effective services and toprevent secondary victimisation of the survivors.

This information was revealed in the department’s second quarter report for the 2020/21 financial year.

 A Green Door is a safe space in the community that is at least 5kms away from a police station and is run by community members. It offers debriefing, containment and referral to necessary stakeholders such as local NGOs, SAPS, and courts. Green Door is a link between the community and SAPS, and the victim can stay for up to 6 hours at the site.

 According to the second quarter report, the department had a target of rolling out nine Green Doors.

 This target was not achieved, and the department has not given a reason for the deviation. The department states that the ambassadors have been recruited and screened and that the procurement process is underway to ensure that the rollout happens before the end of the financial year.

This target was also not achieved in the first quarter of the 2020/21 financial year. The reasons given by the department for non-achievement is that due to lockdown, no Green Doors were erected because of the inaccessibility of the homes.

It is worrying that the department consistently fails to establish Green Doors despite the increase of gender-based violence cases across the country during the lockdown.

 The DA calls on the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to ensure that these Green Doors are prioritised to provide adequate and effective service and support to the victims and survivors of gender-based violence. We will hold MEC Mazibuko accountable for the increase in cases of gender- based violence if these Green Doors are not erected as a matter of urgency.

 

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No shelter for abused people in Tembisa despite being top 3 GBV hotspot nationally

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is disappointed to learn that there is no shelter for abused people in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni despite Tembisa being identified as the number three national hotspot for gender-based violence.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng Department of Social Development MEC, Nomathemba Mokgethi in a written reply to the DA’s written questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to the MEC, there is no shelter for abused people in Tembisa.

This is very worrying because there is a high number of gender-based violence cases being reported in Tembisa. According to the recent gender-based violence statistics of the top 30 gender-based violence hotspots presented by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, Tembisa ranks third nationally.

Furthermore, there are not enough social workers in the area considering the population of over 512 000 people as the department has only deployed 40 social workers in Tembisa.

It is high time that the department consider working with the NGOs in the area to establish a shelter for abused people in Tembisa.

The DA will continue to put pressure on MEC Mokgethi to establish a facility for abused people in Tembisa to ensure that the victims and survivors of gender-based violence receive prompt and effective services and prevent secondary victimisation of the survivors.

We further call on Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to ensure that the Green Door programme is prioritised to provide adequate and effective services and support to the victims and survivors of gender-based violence in Tembisa.

 

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MEC Mazibuko not doing enough to curb the scourge of gender-based violence in Gauteng

The Gauteng Department of Community Safety has failed to roll out nine Green Doors meant to ensure that the victims and survivors of gender-based violence receive prompt and effective services and prevent secondary victimisation of the survivors.

This information was revealed in the department’s first quarter report for the 2020/21 financial year.

According to the first quarter report, the department had a target of rolling out nine Green Doors.

This target was not achieved, and the reasons given by the department for non-achievement is that due to lockdown, no green doors were erected because of the inaccessibility of the homes.

A Green Door is a safe space in the community that is at least 5kms away from a police station and run by community members. It offers debriefing, containment and referral to necessary stakeholders such as local NGOs, SAPS, and courts. Green Door is a link between the community and SAPS, and the victim can stay up to 6 hours at the site.

The department’s failure to establish Green Doors clearly indicates that the ANC-led Gauteng government cares little about ensuring that the victims of gender-based violence are protected during this difficult period of lockdown as a result of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic.

With the increase of gender-based violence cases across the country during the lockdown, the department should have prioritised the establishment of Green Doors in the province instead of using Covid-19 as an excuse.

The DA calls on MEC Mazibuko to ensure that these Green Doors are prioritised to provide adequate and effective services and support to the victims and survivors of gender-based violence.

The DA has also tabled a Community Safety Private Members Bill which will ensure that cases of domestic and interpersonal abuse are treated with the concern they deserve by creating specific offences with serious consequences for those who fail to assist the victims in accordance with the duties placed on them by the Act, such as the police  officers and court officials.

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GBV: DA calls on MEC to investigate low conviction rate

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is deeply concerned that despite the high number of gender-based violence cases opened, and arrests made between 1 March to 30 April 2020, there is a low conviction rate.

This was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko in a written reply to the DA’s questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Mazibuko, from 1 March to 30 April 2020, 5 082 cases of gender-based violence have been opened at police stations across Gauteng.

Of these cases opened only 3 373 arrests have been made with 204 resulting in convictions.

It is very worrying that there is a low conviction rate which clearly indicates that its either the justice system that is failing our people, or the police are failing to properly investigate these cases.

The lack of adequate investigation of gender-based violence cases has resulted in many cases being taken off the court roll due to a lack of sufficient evidence that can lead to prosecution.

It is high time that cases of gender-based violence are prioritised to ensure justice for the victims.

The DA calls on MEC Mazibuko to investigate why there is such a low conviction rate on gender-based violence cases to ensure that the victims get the justice they deserve.

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GBV: DA calls for more resources and strengthening of unit 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is deeply concerned about the escalating number of gender-based violence cases during the lockdown period.

According to the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele over 2 300 complaints have been registered since the beginning of the lockdown between the 27 to 31 March and from these cases, 148 suspects have been charged.

The number of gender-based violence cases that have been registered between January and 31 March 2020 now stands at 15 924.

The DA, therefore, calls on both the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and the Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General, Elias Mawela to strengthen and provide adequate resources and personnel to the Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) at our police stations to ensure that police officers have the capacity to respond to such complaints.

Minister Cele indicated that once all reports have been consolidated, the figures will be measured against the number of complaints received through the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre in 2019, where the figure stands at 87,920.

These stats are worrying and clearly indicate that the safety of women and children is under threat particularly during this lockdown period.

We demand a breakdown per province on where these incidents have been reported to ensure that there are immediate interventions by different stakeholders involved in fighting the scourge of gender-based violence.

The DA will make a follow-up on the gender-based violence cases reported during the lockdown to ascertain the number of arrests, the progress in terms of investigations and the number of convictions to ensure that the victims get the justice they deserve.

We also encourage more victims to speak out on issues of gender-based violence as this social ill has a negative impact on the well-being of all our people.

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251 children die as a result of gender-based violence in Gauteng

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned that 251 children have died as a result of gender-based violence in Gauteng over the past five years.

This was revealed to me by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

According to MEC Mazibuko from 2014 to 2018, 251 children died with 13 children dying alongside their mothers or grandmothers as a result of gender-based violence in the province.

The safety of our women and children is under threat as it is reported on a daily basis that women and children are being

Furthermore, 131,210 gender-based violence cases has been opened at the Police Stations around Gauteng from 2014 to 2018.

Of these cases opened only 44,522 arrests have been made with only 9,786 convictions.

It is worrying that many cases have been opened but the arrest and conviction rates are very low.

It is high time that cases of gender-based violence are prioritised to ensure justice for the victims. There are no specialised units within SAPS that deal solely with gender-based violence.

The DA believes that the only way to fight the scourge of gender-based violence is through professionalising our police service. We need police officers that are specifically trained to deal with gender-based violence and who have a thorough knowledge of the legislative frameworks for women’s rights and the rights of child crime victims.

I will be writing to MEC Mazibuko calling for the establishment of specialised units to deal with gender-based violence.

As we mark 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, we call on communities to speak out on issues of gender-based violence as this social ill has a negative impact on the well-being of all our people. The awareness against gender-based violence must not only be conducted during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children but in 365 days a year.