Cape Town - Members of the Western Cape Government came out in their numbers to stand in solidarity with victims and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
Dressed in black, the province’s Premier Alan Winde and MEC of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, were joined by members of the Cabinet and Provincial Legislature, Western Cape Government (WCG) staff, stakeholders, and ordinary citizens who formed a human chain in front and opposite the Legislature in Wale street yesterday.
Voices chanting “enough is enough” and “genoeg is genoeg” could be heard when crossing into the road from Adderley Street.
Premier Winde said the Western Cape Government (WCG) would remain committed to fighting GBV 365 days a year, not just during the 16 Days during the No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign.
Winde said the whole process of reporting GBV cases up until the court process needed to be looked at.
“These survivors need to build up the courage to report the case, then they need to be believed and relive the trauma again during the court process, so I think we need to rethink the support structures and together find a way that we can actually end this, and as a society work out what that is,” he says.
Winde said while he was aware that the default call for these types of crimes was usually for the death penalty to be reinstated, he could not call for that.
“I believe in our Constitution. However there need to be consequences and the very least we can call for is to get the criminal justice system to work so that we can get justice,” he said.
Fernandez encouraged people to become ambassadors for peace and GBV.
“Government does not have a silver bullet. We do not have enough social workers, doctors, nurses, or teachers. What we need is first responders, those who are in our areas willing to work hand in hand with officials.
“We have GBV ambassadors in Delft and Malmesbury who volunteer at trauma rooms on a weekend or busy periods and are training more in Theewaterskloof, and even as far as Prince Albert.
“We need to encourage a spirit of volunteerism, where individuals take responsibility. Bring the change you want to bring in your home, your street, and your community so we can make the province a safer place to live,” she said.
Western Cape MEC for community safety and policing oversight, Reagen Allen also encouraged survivors of GBV to speak up should they feel let down by SAPS.
“Often we hear of cases where these women and children are turned away from police stations. Our message is very clear, this is not allowed, we encourage these survivors to report the members to our office or the police ombudsman so that we can investigate these service deficiencies, and hold SAPS accountable.
“No person must be turned away! It’s time we really put the genoeg, in genoeg!” he says.
