Non-Profit Organisations in the North West working with victims of Gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) are asking the government and police to work with them to end the scourge.
This emerged during the three-day GBVF Summit organised by the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality in Klerksdorp.
The director of the District Thabo Kgobe said the majority of GBVF cases involve the killing of women.
“To date in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District only from April last year, about 129 women were killed. Almost every weekend you will find a woman or a child murdered,” he said.
Police said Ikageng, outside Potchefstroom, is ranked 17 out of the top 30 GBVF hotspot areas in the country.
The aim of the summit was held because of an increase in the number of GBVF cases in the area and it sought to develop an action plan to help the victim but also shine a spotlight on the scourge.
Moipone Motlhamme from the Kosh Crisis Centre, said there’s a need for more shelters as victims of gender-based violence are often forced to go back and live with the perpetrator because there isn’t a safe place to accommodate them.
Nthabiseng Kgomo from Sisonke, which promotes the rights of sex workers, called for the recognition of the sector and for the law to decriminalise sex work.
“If South African law can take sex workers seriously, I think this gender-based violence can be reduced and the police also need to take our cases seriously,” she said.
Victims of GBVF told their tragic stories of how they have been battling to cope with the psychological and physical scars they have had to endure.
Annemarie Swanepoel from Klerksdorp said she was raped by a family member at the age of 13 who also threatened her with death if she told anyone.
“I grew up hating men, it is only God who knows how I survive and still survive,” she said.
Grant Peterson from Ventersdorp, said he was abused by his wife after the couple lost their newborn baby. He said the wife could not handle their loss and took out her frustration on him.
“I have three scars on my head. She used to hit me with every object she saw, the last straw was when she poured boiling water on my private parts and called me less of a man,” he said.
Santy Brits from Potchefstroom said she will not heal from what had happened after she was raped by an unknown man while her husband was admitted in hospital for cancer. “It’s worse than your worst nightmare after that there is nothing left of who you are”.
