Victims of crime should not be treated as second class citizens

27 March 2017

The dreadful taxi-rape saga, which has emboldened more and more victims of this ghastly crime to come forward, has highlighted the horrendous treatment of victims of rape by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Most of the victims of these crimes have expressed how they were pushed from pillar to post by members of the SAPS when trying to report what had happened to them. Often they were told to go to different police stations as they had arrived at the “wrong” station.

This is absolutely unacceptable as a crime can, and should, be reported at any station. Once a case number is issued, the matter can be transferred to any station for investigation.

This lack of concern was reiterated by the MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, who admitted that the SAPS had not acted in the victim’s best interests.

MEC Nkosi-Malobane, as the head of community safety in Gauteng must ensure that SAPS members treat all victims of crime with the respect that they deserve.

Secondary victimisation by SAPS officers prevents many cases from being reported and inflicts further trauma on victims of crime.

The DA has called on the MEC to work with the Department of Social Development to send SAPS members on sensitivity training. The MEC must take this call to heart, as victims of crime are our families and loved ones – they are humans, not just statistics.

Issued by John Moodey, DA Gauteng Provincial Leader, 27 March 2017