A pregnant woman’s lifeless body hangs from a tree. Another woman’s remains are found in a plastic bag dumped along a highway. A mother and daughter are discovered dead in a house after going missing for days.
These are just a few of the cases that have dominated headlines as the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) raises its head yet again – a scourge described as “South Africa’s second pandemic” by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his recent address to a nation in the grips of Covid-19.
Violent crime had increased during lockdown, he said, and “cases of abuse of women and children have increased dramatically”.
“We need to ask some very difficult questions of ourselves as a society,” he added.
Last year, shortly after the murder of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana by a post office worker in Cape Town, the president launched a R1,6 billion emergency fund to combat GBV. And yet still the horror continues unabated.
Right now, Tshegofatso Pule is the face of the scourge. Last year it was Uyinene. The year before it was Karabo Mokoena.
Ramaphosa, who read out the names of many victims of GBV during his address, said the time had come to stop the slaughter.
“As a man, as a husband and as a father, I am appalled at what is no less than a war being waged against the women and children of our country.”
But what exactly is being done?
PLEDGES FROM THE PRESIDENT
-
The R1,6 billion government emergency fund to fight GBV includes:
Denne historien er fra 2 July 2020-utgaven av Drum English.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 2 July 2020-utgaven av Drum English.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Homegrown Heroes
Drum speaks to two volunteers in the Covid-19 vaccine trial and the professor heading the team in Africa
The Big Clean Up
Whenever a Covid-19 case is confirmed at a shop, they call in the deep-cleaners. We find out exactly how they disinfect stores and supermarkets
I'm Back & Better!
Babes Wodumo shares what she’s been up to in lockdown – and there’s some new music on the horizon
Not An Easy Ride
Taxi commuters and industry players tell DRUM what’s driving them to defy lockdown rules
Mam' Mary Bows Out
Iconic actress Mary Twala is fondly remembered by friends and family for her humour and talent
‘They Lived For Each Other'
This Cape Town teen’s parents died from Covid-19 on the same day. Now she’s alone and battling the virus too
Stranger Than Fiction
For actor Mangaliso Ngema and his daughter Khosi Ngema, her role in Blood & Water was like watching their family’s real-life story unfold
I Was Raped By A Pastor
His accusations against a well-known man of the cloth turned an Eastern Cape man’s life into turmoil but now more victims have spoken out
My Fight With Life And Death
More Covid-19 patients, too few beds and staff, constant sanitising and personal fears – a Western Cape doctor shares her experience
I AM ENOUGH
Ten years after being set alight, Thembi Maphanga is living life to the fullest