Declared a national pandemic by President Cyril Ramaphosa, gender-based violence (GBV) is receiving attention at the National Arts Festival which got under way on June 22.
The world-acclaimed annual festival in Makhanda, Eastern Cape wraps up on Sunday.
Two plays Ghost Twerkers and The Prince of Sovenga written by Dr Ola-Kris Akinola, a senior lecturer at the University of Limpopo, were performed by the university’s performing arts department.
Akinola said the plays are in honour of the survivors and victims of rape, femicide, inequality, and GBV all over the world, particularly in South Africa.
“The 2018 crime statistics published by the South African Police Service and Statistics SA show shockingly 40 035 reported rape cases in the country,” said Akinola.
“On the other hand, statistics for sexual offences in 2017 were 49 660, and had increased to 50 108 in 2018.
“This to me has signaled that there is something fundamentally wrong with our society, and that it was time for me as an academic to do something, hence the ‘birth’ of Ghost Twerkers.”
He added that South Africa needs to take drastic action to end GBV and femicide.
“For me as an academic in the performing arts, this is my starting point. In the future, I wish to see institutions of higher learning producing research papers that will further put a spotlight on this issue.
“Come up with proposed solutions to end GBV, and perhaps inform policy on how to create a better and safer environment for vulnerable groups including those exposed to the scourge.”
The latest statistics show that 185 women are violently assaulted in South Africa every day and 53 888 sexual offences were reported to the police between April 2022 and March 2023. In those reports, rape cases are sitting at 43 037.
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