Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
| Tackling sexual violence must become a NC priorityby Priscilla Isaacs MPL – DA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson of on Transport, Safety & Liaison Error! Filename not specified.Date: 22 August 2019Release: Immediate The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is deeply concerned about the shortage of rape kits in the province.A recent reply to a parliamentary question by the National Police Commissioner revealed shocking results relating to the shortages of rape kits across South Africa.With reference to the Northern Cape Province, statistics revealed that for Adult Sexual Evidence Collection Kits, the province only has 784 in stock with a requirement of 2 467. For Paediatric Sexual Evidence Kits, the province only has 432 available with a requirement of 1 952.With the high spate of violent crime against women and children in the province, it is a horrendous realisation to know that our police stations are in effect short of 1 683 Adult Sexual Evidence Collection kits and 1 520 Paediatric Sexual Evidence Collection kits.This is unacceptable.We cannot tolerate the fact that our police stations are not sufficiently equipped to effectively provide the necessary support to victims of sexual violence. This is detrimental to catching criminals and pursuing justice for victims.Sadly, the failure of SAPS to provide the necessary support to rape victims in the province comes as no surprise. At the last known date, a number of police stations throughout the districts did not have victim-friendly rooms as required by law. This is particularly worrisome, as we find that Frances Baard, ZF McGawu and the JTG districts ranked the highest in the province for sexual offences reported in 2018.What does this say of a province that has one of the highest rape rates in the country?Despite all the talks shops and the public condemnation of sexual offences in this province, clearly crimes against women and children are still not a priority. It is thus little wonder that communities have lost faith in SAPS, as is evident from the most recent STATS SA Victims of Crime Survey, which concluded that it is the perception of more than 50% of the people living in the Northern Cape that the police will either only respond to an emergency call after two hours, or never at all.The DA will write to MEC of Safety, Nontobeko Vilakazi, highlighting the stock outs of rape kits and the lack of victim friendly rooms in the Northern Cape and ask her to pursue this matter on the necessary platforms.We cannot allow SAPS’s own failures to give perpetrators of sexual offences a get-out-of-jail free card. Perpetrators of sexual violence must be prosecuted and locked away, so that communities can become safer for our women and children.The DA will continue to fight for the rights of our women and children to ensure that victims are fully supported by the long arm of the law. |
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