As South Africans focus on the coronavirus pandemic, there is another pandemic which plagues society. One which is wreaking havoc in the lives of women.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has come under scrutiny, with more and more women falling victim to brutal crimes. One of the most recent being that of Tshegofatso Pule, a woman from Roodepoort who was brutally stabbed. Her body left handing in a tree.
But she was not the only woman to die this past week. This follows the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, condemning an incident where a 30-year-old man shot his 59-year-old mother.
The murder took place on June 10 at Kabokweni outside Nelspruit.
According to police spokesperson, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, the incident unfolded when the woman’s son had an argument with his wife and another woman.
“The argument between the three escalated and the man’s mother, who was in another room with her other children, heard the commotion and sought to intervene. She then tried to calm the situation.”
Unfortunately, her son had a firearm on him at the time. He fired a shot, which struck his mother. The woman’s daughter heard the shot and went to see what was happening. She found her mother lying on the ground.
“The victim was immediately rushed to the hospital. But sadly, she was certified dead upon arrival,” says Brigadier Hlathi.
The matter was then reported to police, who opened a case of murder.
How bad is the GBV situation currently in South Africa?
Police minister Bheki Cele has recently confirmed that collectively, various police departments around the country received a sum of approximately 87 000 GBV complaints during the first week of the lockdown. A figure which speaks volumes.
With the number of GBV cases on the rise, what steps do you feel the government should take to safeguard South African women? Share your thoughts and views with us in the comment section below.
