16 Days of Activism: Society, govt fails the survivors

26 November 2020

The following is an extract from a debate on 16 Days of Activism, delivered during a House Sitting of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature today.

On behalf of the Democratic Alliance in the Northern Cape, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to every person who lost a loved one in this ongoing battle against gender-based violence. To every woman who cries alone in her pillow, to every girl who hides new scars under long sleeves, to every mother who woke up feeling afraid for the safety of her family, I know that we as a society are failing you, and we as a government are not doing better.

Statistics tell us that a woman is murdered every three hours in our country. Areas like Blikkiesdorp and Middelpos in my hometown of Upington are reaching the news but areas like Dekotaweg are synonymous with brutal, violent crime against defenseless women and children. The most recent crime statistics also show us that, at ninety, the Northern Cape has the third highest rape rate in South Africa.

Victims who are brave enough to report their brutalisation are often exposed to further traumatisation caused by the chronic under resourcing of the South African Police Services. The Minister of Police tells us that, as of June this year, more than twenty-three per cent of the province’s ninety-one police stations do not even have victim-friendly rooms on their premises.

What justice is there for victims of gender-based violence when this ANC-led government cannot be bothered to fund the implementation of the laws that keep our women and our children safe? In fact, Honourable Speaker, the recent budget adjustment revealed that this ANC-led government would rather bailout the struggling SAA that caters for the middleclass and the elite, than bailout out struggling women and children in the lower educational and income spectrum of my country. We know by now that the Minister of Finance gave an additional ten point five billion rand to keep SAA going. But very few realise where this money actually came from and what impact it will have on matters that should be priorities for a caring government. If you take a closer look at the figures, you see that SAA is robbing two point four billion from the police, from the courts, and from the National Prosecuting Authority.

I ask again, Honourable Speaker – what justice can there be, what hope for justice can there be, when this ANC-led government will proudly sponsor SAA at the cost of bruised women and brutalised children?

It would be naïve to think that the Northern Cape will escape the worst consequences of this highly irresponsible re-allocation of funds. As it is, there are too few resources and too few staff in the criminal justice system to ensure justice for victims of violent crime.

As it is, the National Forensic Science Laboratories battle a general backlog of three hundred percent in the processing of DNA-tests for court cases. Tests should be completed within forty-eight hours, but are delayed for months while victims wait on the hope of justice.

As it is, chronic shortages of necessities like rape kits or essential equipment like vehicles remains an obstacle for efficient policing in the province. There are some good men and women in uniform who serve their communities with diligence and with no regard for their personal safety, but how can we expect these officers to do their duty without giving them the necessary resources?

As we praise the police officers who serve our communities and who make us proud, we must also act against police officers who bring shame and dishonour to their profession. The Minister of Police said in September 2020 that cases related to gender-based violence were opened against one hundred and thirty-nine members of SAPS, including members from fourteen police stations in the province. Six members serve in Upington, which speaks to a systematic failure within the ranks to protect the communities that SAPS must serve.

It also speaks to the ongoing failure by the Office of the Premier to provide real leadership and to bring all departments to the same table. The National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence was tabled in August 2020, but we still see no evidence of departments actually walking the talk on the much-needed multi-sectoral approach. Instead, it seems as if every department formulates its own fragmented plans and carries it out in its own little silo, separate from each other and from the people of the province. We say in Afrikaans – die linkerhandweetnie wat die regterhanddoennie.

While the provincial government is satisfied with such a disorderly approach to a serious societal ill, Honourable Speaker, the fragmented scraps from disjointed departmental plans will remain nothing more than temporary plasters on a permanently festering wound.

I invite the Honourable premier – through you, Honourable Speaker – to come and give a real status update on the plans to combat gender-based violence. Be honest. Be factual. What are this government’s actual plans and will you prioritise the funding needed or not?

I also want to invite every victim of every violent crime to reach out for the support that you need. Get in touch with FAMSA. Contact the National Shelter Movement of South Africa and all other organizations that is trying to help. Speak to your friends, your colleagues, your spiritual mentors. Don’t let shame steal your voice, but speak up for yourself and make yourself a survivor.

In closing, I want to offer the following words from poetess Rupi Kaur to each and every victim of gender-based violence:

“I know it’s hard / believe me / I know it feels like / tomorrow will never come / and today will be the most / difficult day to get through / but I swear you will get through / the hurt will pass / as it always does / if you give it time and / let it so let it / go / slowly / like a broken promise / let it go”.

The DA has created a timeline of DA activism against gender-based violence. View it here: https://www.da.org.za/16-days-of-activism

Issued by Priscilla Isaacs,DA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson of Gender, 26 November 2020