Cape Town - Delft residents had a lot to say during a discussion to improve services related to gender-based violence (GBV) in their community.
The discussion on Wednesday was led by the Western Cape Department of Social Development, provincial minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen, the SAPS and various stakeholders.
The imbizo got Delft residents talking and sharing ideas on dealing with the crisis, where women and children died at the hands of men, leaving the community crying out for help.
The purpose of the imbizo was to find community-led solutions to prevent and end GBV, and to bring together the government and society to form an implementation plan for the crime-stricken area.
The provincial head of the SAPS’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit, Brigadier Sonja Harri, said Delft was one of the province’s GBV hot spots.
“Reports of the first three quarters of 2022 show that there were 175 reported rape cases, 60% (106) of investigations leading to an arrest, and 20 sexual assault cases leading to 16 arrests or 80% arrest rate of reported cases,” she said.
The community shared important key ideas, asking for youth ambassadors and street imbizos in suburbs with high levels of GBV-related reported crimes to raise awareness, a call for national Justice Department officials to show more empathy towards victims, especially the elderly and people with disabilities, and the need of social workers at schools, among other things.
The Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, said: “The only way any type of GBV intervention plan will work is if we have the community’s inputs, buy-in and participation. We need residents to work with us, we need the private sector, NGOs and other government departments to join us if we ever want to break the cycle of violence.”
Allen said: “It is vital that we engage the broader society as often as possible on this critical matter. Delft requires urgent intervention, as not only GBV but crime in general needs to be addressed. We are determined to see a turnaround and real safety brought to residents.
“I urge the entire community to join us in this fight so that we can eradicate these evils from Delft.”
siviwe.melapi@inl.co.za