Sonke Gender Justice, a non-profit organisation that stands for the rights of women, men, children and non-gender conforming individuals, has voiced its concerns on the latest crime statistics.
This after Police Minister Bheki Cele released the statistics for crimes recorded between January and March earlier this week.
Cele said about 969 women were killed in the first quarter while more than 15 000 women were assaulted.
The statistics also revealed that over 10 000 rape cases were registered during the reporting period, with Gauteng recording the most rape cases followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
Bafana Khumalo, co-executive director at Sonke Gender Justice, and co-chairperson Global MenEngage Alliance, said the increase in murder cases of women is alarming.
“This indicates that these cited provinces are not safe places for women and girls. But we also know that such crimes happen in other provinces as well, though in low numbers,” said Khumalo.
“This in essence makes the whole of South Africa a crime scene in relation to violence against women.’
He further called for Cele to resign, saying the police minister’s promises are not news to the non-profit organisation.
“We have heard these promises before by the minister. In another country with such horrible statistics, the minister of police would have resigned in shame as a form of accountability, but not in South Africa.
“Why is the president keeping minister Cele in this position when he is failing to ensure that women and girls are safe?”
Cele said without community participation, the police will never win the war against crime.
“We call on community partnerships. We again call on government at all levels to support policing efforts by addressing the country’s drivers of crime,” Cele said when announcing the figures.
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