Police minister Bheki Cele recently released the list of 30 hotspots identified as needing special attention and targeted interventions when it comes to gender-based violence.
The list was compiled based on nine key variables, including the number of cases reported to the SAPS during the 2019/2020 financial year. These cases included, rape, human trafficking for sexual offences, kidnapping for sexual offences and domestic-related human trafficking. Reported domestic violence related to cases of murder, rape, attempted murder and assault were also considered when compiling this list.
Cele also revealed shocking numbers. Only 130 of the 4,058 people arrested for alleged gender-based violence (GBV) since the announcement of the lockdown in March have been convicted – which translates to a conviction rate of only 3%.
The bulk of the 30 hotspots are in townships, the reality of SA townships is that black people are the ones who live in them. To me, this speaks to apartheid spatial planning still being intact.
As a country, we have not been able to redress the imbalances and inequalities of the past. Black women are still at the receiving end of violence and inequality. The violence is experienced at the hands of their own – black men.
As critical as it is to consider the ramifications of colonialism and apartheid on our communities and the entrenching of violence thereof, I think it is equally critical that we, as black men, take responsibility and accountability when coming to our direct contribution towards GBV and what we want to bequeath to our boy children. If we are not looking to ourselves and our behaviour, we create an unending cycle of abuse and misogyny.
The minister announced that the police’s integrated sexual offences and gender-based violence action plan would involve proactive measures with short, medium to long-term time frames. For the effectiveness of this plan of action, for it to give optimal results and have long-lasting effects, it is important that the action plan is multidisciplinary and multifaceted in its approach.
As part of the response, it is important that there is community buy-in and community-based nongovernmental organisations are capacitated with financial backing and resources to be a big part of the response.
It is highly likely that community-based, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) better know the circumstances of the communities they serve. They have established relations and community buy-in. They also know the nuances of GBV and how it presents or manifests itself in their specific communities. They are thus better positioned to respond effectively with these nuances in mind.
These organisations likely have solutions already, that respond to their specific communities' needs. They just need the financial backing and resources to implement them. A response to GBV is urgent, it is a national crisis. We therefore cannot spend huge amounts of time bringing police stations up to speed with the realities of these communities when coming to GBV.
We can however ensure that police stations join forces with these NGOs that already have a picture of the reality. They are often overlooked and underfunded.
This is not to say the important, painstaking process of researching, data gathering and combing through the data to get a picture of the crisis and thus respond appropriately, is not important. These processes are important.
However, such processes are long and often derail our responses. We already have organisations in our communities that can serve as an important stakeholder and already have the appropriate insight we need.
It is these organisations that offer safe spaces for women who do not have access to police stations that have care services. It is critical that these NGOs are capacitated and resourced as part of the plan, they are already doing unimaginable amounts of work with very limited resources, under difficult working conditions.
It is even more important for a multifaceted and multidisciplinary approach when one considers how dysfunctional the state organs in the communities identified as part of the hotspots are. In these communities, women are not able to access sexual reproductive rights and basic health care.
The very police stations they must run to for help are found wanting a lot of the time and communities are sceptical of them. The problems of these communities are multifaceted and feed into each other. It, therefore, cannot be that police stations become the only nerve centres of response. The effectiveness of this targeted action plan is contingent on making sure that the resources reach women, holistically.
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