A non-governmental organisation on Monday called on President Thabo Mbeki to launch an inquiry into the low conviction rate for rape and to institute an emergency action plan on child abuse.
During the past two weeks, civil society groups in partnership with government have been engaged in a high profile campaign against gender violence — the Sixteen Days of Peace campaign, which started on November 25 and ends on Tuesday, Human Rights Day.
At a media conference in Johannesburg on Monday, civil organisations including Gender Links, the Men’s Forum, and the Network on Violence Against Women, said the Sixteen Days campaign had mobilised South Africans as never before to recognise that ”women’s rights are human rights”.
Gender Links said South Africa had one of the highest rates of gender violence in the world, while the conviction rate for rape cases stood at a shocking seven percent.
”We call on President Thabo Mbeki to launch an urgent public inquiry into the low conviction rate for rape and institute an emergency action plan on gender violence against children. Children constitute 40 percent of all rape cases.”
According to a Gender Links, the Sixteen Days of Peace had highlighted the extent of participation by senior government officials, starting with President Mbeki launching the campaign in a school and urging children to ”blow the whistle” on gender violence.
Justice Minister Penuell Maduna had also added his weight to the campaign with a personal account of a close relative who had taken refuge in his home after suffering from domestic abuse, and Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor Amos Masondo had paved the way for many others in local government to take a stand against gender violence.
”It is especially refreshing that male leaders have been in the forefront of the campaign,” Gender Links said. – Sapa