Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
| by Priscilla Isaacs, MPL – DA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson of Gender |
| Date: 16 June 2020 |
| Release: Immediate |
| Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English & Afrikaans from Priscilla Isaacs, MPL. Yet another case of gender-based violence, this time in the Northern Cape, has amplified the need for an urgent and yet practical response to this ongoing battle.In this regard, the Democratic Alliance is shocked, saddened and traumatized by reports of the brutal murder of a 27-year old Hartswater women from the Asgat informal settlement, which saw her bludgeoned to death by a panga. We express our deepest condolences to her family.There are simply no more words left to aptly express the outrage, the horror and the condemnation that we feel for the crimes against women and children. This includes the slaying of Tshegofatso Pule and her unborn child, found hanging in a tree in Roodepoort, as well as Naledi Phangindawo of Mossel bay, who was hacked to death with an axe.The DA is by no means a supporter of the ANC’s punted radical transformation but if there is one place where the term radical is appropriate, it should be in the country’s response to gender-based violence. This, as it is increasingly clear that significantly more pressure is needed to revolutionize gender-based safety.Statistics show that while 114 women are raped in South Africa every day, the country has a 5% conviction rate. Given that certain legislation dealing with things such as domestic abuse is more than 20 years old, this is little wonderSurely, if the world can unite against racism, it can also unite against violence against women and children? Surely if the world can stand together to combat a new virus, it can also stand together to combat the age-old pandemic of gender-based violence?With the recent outbreak of Coronavirus, the government showed us just how quickly they can enact legislation, albeit highly questionable legislation. It is time that they address gender-based violence with the same sense of determinedness.We need legislation in a language that is practical and easy to understand, so that women and police officers everywhere, can know their rights. We need to streamline the process of applying for protection orders to make it simpler and more user-friendly. We need specialized domestic violence courts and an online register, to ensure that information on perpetrators is accessible in all cities and towns.At the same time, we need better police work through the professionalization of our police officers, and by training and equipping them. Bring on the bloodhounds to sniff out the abusers, the rapists and the murderers!If something is not done about this today, tomorrow we will again wipe tears from our eyes.The DA therefore calls on all of society to make use of the country’s youth day celebrations, to also pay tribute to the countless lives of women who have been massacred by gender-based violence. If there can be so much attention given towards toppling statues of the past, surely even more attention can be given to collapsing current day patriarchy and bringing down the ruthless criminals who continue to perpetuate the cycle of gender-based violence in society. |
| Media Enquiries |
| Priscilla Isaacs, MPLDA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson of Gender0826147490 Shelley de WittResearcher0828471387 |
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