Deputy Justice Minister: ''There hasn't been a spike in GBV, just more awareness''
The Deputy Minister of Justice, John Jeffrey says the extent of gender-based violence and senseless killings of women is nothing new. Instead he says there's just been a lot more attention and reporting on the recent spate of violence against women.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development recently launched a Women's Dialogue against intimate femicide which aims to raise awareness of intimate femicide and to educate women on available legal avenues. This dialogue, according to the minister, will encourage women to develop a safety plan with officials from the department to assist women to get out of toxic relationships.
''There are facilities for women who have nowhere else to go; if they leave the home they can get safety from the department as well as government facilities'', says Jeffrey.
There's been widespread criticism of the tendency by government and civil rights organisations to place the onus on victims in find solutions to their plights. Following a recent Checkpoint interview on news channel eNCA, the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Susan Shabangu was slammed for her choice of words when she described the character of the slain Karabo Mokoena as ''weak'' and ''vulnerable''.
The Deputy Minister suggests that the reason the roles of women tend to be over-emphasised, is simply because they are the biggest victims. ''The focus being on women is that they are the ones that often get trapped into relationships; they get emotionally dependent because they are being psychologically run-down by their partners, subsequently finding it hard for them to leave those who abuse them,'' says Jeffery.
He says there is also a need to focus on the boy child, especially when it comes socialization at home. ''Obviously the problem is with the men - if men weren't beating and killing their partners we wouldn't have intimate femicide or gender-based violence," says Jeffrey. "We need to look at questions of how the boy children are being brought up and what values are they being taught about women''.
The deputy minister also adds that it's unfortunate that government can't police people's homes, where much of the violence against women occurs. ''The problem is that it's not possible for SAPS to police every relationship, so it's very much a societal issue and we have to focus on societal attitudes about women."
The deputy minister refutes media reports suggesting that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is planning on reducing its funding for specialised courts that deal specifically with sexual offence cases, calling it ''fake-news''. Jeffrey says there are engagements with UNICEF to look at whether the department can develop a cheaper model for sexual offence courts.