CAPE TOWN – The Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement, founded and led by the gender activist Wendy Pekeur said in a statement the ongoing scourge of gender-based violence across the country warrants nothing less than a state of emergency and that the president of South Africa, Cyril Rampahosa, should act decisively and immediately in this regard.
The group is calling for urgent action to be taken to fight what’s been referred to as a pandemic by many. (Source: www.ewn.co.za , 19 th October 2022).
Among several women and children found murdered in recent weeks are four-year-old Tamia Botha from Paarl in the Western Cape, four-year-old Bokgabo Poo from Wattville in Ekurhuleni and twenty-year-old Zahraa Muller from Heathfield in Cape Town, who was six months pregnant.
Pekeur said that the blood of these victims was on the hands of the courts who released perpetrators on bail and on parole boards, as criminals found guilty of crimes against women and children continued to be released back into communities to continue their onslaught.
Pekeur’s called on the president to declare a state of disaster, saying there was an urgent need for law reform.
The movement said that besides the need for harsher sentences, communities needed to take hands to make sure women, children and vulnerable groups were properly protected.
Pekeur this year set up a Klapmuts anti GBV community response team to provide protection and safety for female victims of gender-based violence 24 hours a day.
Although many members of the organization had little experience in dealing with cases of violence against women and children, they used their activist backgrounds, organising skills and paralegal training to come up with the idea of local, community-led anti-GBV response teams that would be available for abused women and children around the clock. ( www.newframe.com , October 2022)
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The 1000 Women Trust
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PBO NO: 930 051 359
© Copyright 2023| All Rights Reserved. Designed by Ludet Digital for The 1000 Women Trust