Lejweleputswa says ‘no’ to crime against women

The family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit of the Welkom police has revealed that 405 offences against women were reported in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality during the month of February alone, this year.

The commander of the unit, Captain Mbali Modibedi, made this startling disclosure at the Lejweleputswa District Municipality’s dialogue, in commemoration of international woman’s day last week Friday.

Modibedi pointed out that the number excludes non reported cases.

The International Women’s Day (IWD) is observed annually on March 8. This year’s theme for the day is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women” seeks to strengthen international community’s commitment to put an end to violence against women.

The dialogue brought together members of the South Africa Police Service (SAPS); correctional services; the forensic department; church groups and ex-convicts.

Modibedi said the presence of illegal gold miners (“Zama-Zama’s”), who are found in areas such as St. Helen, Thabong and Meloding were contributing to the surging number of rape incidents in the area.

“Sexual assaults have increased drastically since these illegal miners’ invasion of the Goldfields. The acts and manner in which woman are being treated by these Zama-Zamas have also become more gruesome. The biggest challenge the SAPS is faced with in these cases is identification of these people because they are not South African citizens.”

The executive mayor of the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto, spoke out strongly against violation of women, describing it as unacceptable, inexcusable and intolerable.

“Violence against woman has become a global epidemic. In the face of such unacceptable statistics, the Lejweleputswa District Municipality is strongly committed to tackling the plight of women.

Government can only do so much in the fight against violence against woman and girls.

“Therefore, this year the heads of different departments were invited to participate in this dialogue with the community of the district in order to come up with solutions to the alarming increase in violence against woman,” said Leeto.

Leeto pledged said similar interactive sessions will be held by the municipality in the future.

She promised that issues and challenges raised during the dialogue would be further discussed with the relevant MECs in the province in order to find solutions.

“We have come to realise that there is an alarming increase of moral degeneration within our communities. People no longer feel responsible for one another and children grow up without discipline or respect. We need to build a community of neighbours again, where the spirit of Ubuntu prevails.”

The executive mayor of the Nala Local Municipality, Theko Mogoje, concurred with Leeto.

“Is there one universal solution to crime? No one really knows. However, there are some regulations that can slowly decrease it. One important regulation is for the community and the police to build a strong relationship.

“There are still so many unreported criminal activities that take place and in order to eradicate this, I believe society should develop trust in their police officers who are supposed to protect and serve them,” said Mogoje.

A concerned Reabetsoe Matobako believes the government should improve education since this is the key to success. He said it should also improve job opportunities and availability.

“Government should strengthen existing laws to give the police more power. These interventions would give the government the right approach towards the end of crime. They should also start by improving education. Education is a big step in the road to success.

More educated people means less violent people. By improving the education the government is educating people and giving them the knowledge of good and wrong and how to obey the law,” stressed Matobako.

One ex-convict, Jackie Tshabalala, advised young men not to rape or abuse women.

“Life is never easy with a criminal record tagged on your face. There’s always this stigma that ‘he’s an ex-convict’ every time you come across certain groups of people or just walking around looking for job.

“Your whole life and the lives of the people you love, is not worth some petty theft or an innocent person’s life,” said Tshabalala.