The KwaZulu-Natal South African Police Services (SAPS) Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has recently revealed that out of 35 145 suspects arrested since April, 11 192 were linked to incidents of rape and murder of women. Most notable, as shared by the provincial commissioner, was that of a 38-year old man who murdered his fiancée before raping two of his own biological daughters in KwaNyuswa.
The DA’s shattering findings of five (5) million police dockets closed around the country over the past five (5) years due to insufficient evidence tells much about the extent to which crime is swept under the carpet. A significant portion of these dockets speak to crimes committed against women as indicated by the received ministerial breakdown:
• Assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH): 141 026 dockets
• Rape: 61 740 dockets
• Sexual assault: 5 523 dockets
In simple terms these unprocessed dockets translate to undelivered justice.
KZN remains the leading province when it comes to offences against women. This is why DAWN KZN is encouraged by commitments made by the Premier to fight this scourge including initiatives such as the recent Social Crime Prevention Summit held in Durban where he committed to an aggressive collective approach, the Women’s Parliament among others.
In light of these factors DAWN KZN urgently calls for the following:
• The funding of SAPS and capacitation of each police station with the necessary detectives and social workers to tackle the scourge of Gender Based-Violence.
• The presence of dedicated social workers that specialize in trauma, rape and abuse at each police station.
• A specialized GBV task team at SAPS stations to investigate such crimes as well as the training of every officer in sensitive matters of rape and GBV.
Wathinta abafazi, wathinta imbhokodo! You strike a woman; you strike a rock!