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The Democratic Alliance Women’s Network (DAWN) is deeply concerned by what seems to be escalating levels of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide cases in Limpopo recently.

In the last couple of days there have been numerous reports of GBV and femicide, including the death of a 25 year old woman who was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend in Mokopane and the fatal shooting of a 32 year old woman yesterday, allegedly at the hands of her husband in Polokwane.

These incidents demonstrate the vulnerability of women in our societies as well as our common responsibility to protect women from GBV, sexual offences, femicide and to also rid our societies of toxic masculinities that endanger them.

The continued prevalence of GBV in our communities is extremely worrying and continues to prove that women are not safe in this province. It is clear that more has to be done to ensure the safety of our women within the province.

In his response to oral questions yesterday, President Cyril Ramaphosa lamented the backlog of GBV cases and the slow processing of dockets by the South African Police Service (SAPS). He also emphasised the need to strengthen the capacity of the criminal justice system to apprehend and successfully prosecute perpetrators of GBV as part of the National Strategic Plan for Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

Premier Chupu Mathabatha, the Limpopo Government and SAPS need to be more proactive in their plans and approaches to effectively tackle GBV and femicide in order to stop the senseless brutality towards women and keep them safe

DAWN strongly condemns the continued attacks on women in Limpopo and remains committed to ensuring that we build a society in which women are safe in their communities and that the criminal justice system effectively supports the fight against GBV and femicide.

Issued by The DA