Police ‘inundated’ with GBV complaints
Police Minister Bheki Cele says police stations have been inundated with complaints of gender-based violence since the start of the 21-day national lockdown.
President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a lockdown which took effect on Thursday at midnight.
Since then, police have had at least 87 000 calls linked to gender-based violence.
“Since it started 87 000 people have phoned reporting that there might be a gender violence in their houses,” Cele said on Thursday during an inter-ministerial briefing on the lockdown regulations.
It’s unclear how many arrests were made as a result, but Cele said he could account for a high-profile case of an officer accused of raping his wife.
“The police that raped the wife has been arrested, not as a police but as a criminal.”
ALSO READ:
Gender Commission to monitor GBV during lockdown
Chairperson Tamara Mathebula says the commission still has the responsibility to ensure the safety of women and children. There have been growing concerns by advocacy groups about the risk faced by women and children during the lockdown, particularly those confined to their homes with their abusers.
Cele also revealed that more than 2000 people had been arrested for violating lockdown regulations.
“Since the 27th until the 31st midnight 2289 people have been arrested for breaking these regulations.”
Cele added that the alcohol and traffic offenses made the bulk of the arrests.
“Western Cape is 774, Free State is 368, Northern Cape is 290, KwaZulu-Natal is 225, GP is 217, Eastern Cape is 184, North West is 225, Mpumalanga is 81 and Limpopo is 67. Those are the figures of the arrest under the lockdown.”
He urged South Africans to follow the law to avoid a run-in with law enforcement.