DA calls for safe spaces for victims of rape and abuse

8 September 2019

The DA has written to the Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General, Khombinkosi Jula, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the recent revelations on social media where women were revealing the names of their alleged abusers. Whilst the DA believes that social media is not a court of law and that women should report such cases to the law enforcement, we understand their frustration with the justice system that continues to fail them.

The DA in KZN is calling for the creation of safe spaces for rape and abused women. Regrettably, women are not feeling safe in this country and they have lost trust in the system. It is for this reason that the DA is calling for this meeting with Commissioner Jula to discuss this urgent matter.

The DA calls for those safe spaces to be sensitive towards women. Women should be able to come out and be assured that their issues will be taken seriously with the sensitivity it deserves.

In the 2017/18 financial year, KZN police stations reported the highest number of rape cases in the country, with Inanda Police Station placed first place with 278 reported cases followed by Umlazi Police Station with 252 reported cases. This province continues to be the “rape capital” of the country.

What is disappointing is that in certain cases, men continue to feel entitled to abuse women and use their positions of power and status to violate women every chance they get, women who are looking for jobs or business opportunities are still facing the painful reality of being asked to perform sexual favours in order to get jobs or opportunities, in some cases young women are expected to sleep with their educators in order to succeed in their academia.

Time and time again they report such abuses and no one is willing to listen. This must stop. We are calling upon the real men of this province to say #NotInMyName and #ManUp against rapists. They live amongst us, they are our friends, brothers and acquaintances. It is time for men of this province to unite to protect the women of our province. We are calling on the Commissioner not to fold their arms after these revelations, but to take these matters seriously. We call upon our women to be brave enough to come forward and report these heinous crimes and for those culprits to face the full might of the law. The justice system can no longer let women and children of this country down.

We take note of the announcement by President Ramaphosa to make sexual offenders list public and his commitment to the government taking the abuse of women seriously. We will monitor this to ensure it is taken with the seriousness it deserves.

Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, DA KZN Provincial Leader, 8 September 2019