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The Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) is concerned about the increasing rate of sexual offences in the country in South Africa. More worrying is that the Crime Statistics for 2017/18 shows that sexual offences increased to 50 108 this year up from 49 660 in the previous year.  The FHR is aware that the statistics are not a true reflection of the situation on the ground since there cases of sexual offences that go unreported in the country.

In response to these alarming statistics, the FHR hosted a Capacity Building Workshop on Gender-Based Violence in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Street Law Programme. The event was aimed at building the capacity of representatives from the Department of Health, South African Police Service (SAPS), National Prosecuting Authority, civil society organisations (CSOs) and other relevant stakeholders, to enable them to deal with sexual offences cases effectively. The workshop also empowered the participants to standardise services for evidence collection and prosecution.

During the workshop, a representative from a CSO dealing with cases of sexual violence told the participants that the number of cases reported to the organisation has increased by more than 100% over the past three months.

Similar workshops will be held in KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, 23-24 October 2018), Free State and Northern Cape (Bloemfontein, 6-7 November 2018), Eastern Cape (East London, 20-21 November 2018), Mpumalanga and Limpopo (Mbombela, 26-27 November 2018) and Western Cape (Cape Town, 4-5 February 2019).

The FHR condemns the attack on women and children in the strongest possible terms.

We urge the joint commitment by the whole community including health practitioners, police, CSOs, prosecutors and other relevant stakeholders to ensure justice for the victims of GBV and to also work towards violence-free communities. These workshops facilitate such practical collaboration in addressing these scourges.

Issued by The Foundation for Human Rights