MEMBERS of Parliament want a clear explanation from the government on how it plans to finance the scourge of violence against women and children, which is a tragedy in this country.
This was revealed when the two committees, that of Governance in Partnership with Indigenous Affairs, and that of Women, Youth and Living with Disability, met with the Minister of these departments, this week.
The Chairperson of the Women’s Committee, Ms Liezl van der Merwe, said that they welcome the resolution of this problem in the country and said that there needs to be a clear plan on how much money will be invested to fight this problem.
“We welcome the identification of this problem as a crisis in order to fight it. But we want to know how the departments will support this fight.”
The Chairman of the Cooperative Governance committee, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said that the high figures of violence against women in the country are unacceptable.
“The Constitution highlights human rights, so it is shameful that women are abused in this way. We welcome the government’s handling of this problem.”
In this meeting, it was revealed that from July to September 2024, 957 women were killed in this country.
The members highlighted the importance of strengthening the work of the police, strengthening the work of the prosecutors and the courts and not letting off easily those who commit crimes involving the abuse of women.
He also called for the expansion of facilities for those who have been abused by Thuthuzela, and also to focus on boys who need to be taught more about violence.
The members of the church are not left without the fact that they must also be part of the campaigns to fight this scourge.
Alcohol and drugs are also some of the things that have been shown to exacerbate violence against women.
The MEC in the Office of the President responsible for women, Mrs. Sindisiwe Chikunga, said that they will increase the number of Thuthuzelas as they are small.
He said there are changes taking place as the police are no longer allowed to grant bail to a person accused of abusing women and children.
“Bail related to cases of abuse of women, is now issued only in courts, not in police stations. There are many things that my partner, in the Department of Justice, is looking at, such as the names of people who have been convicted of abuse cases, which are included in a list for the public to know,” he said.
The MEC for Cooperative Governance, Mr. Velenkosini Hlabisa, said that he will return to the Cabinet regarding the issue of money that will be invested in this scandal.
He said they agreed with us in the Cabinet that this problem of abuse and violence against women must be identified as a tragedy.
“Since this problem has been identified as a disaster, there is cooperation in different departments to fight this scourge. That is why we will return to the Cabinet on the matter of money and other things that still need to be done. We will come back with answers after March because the Ministry of Treasury knows that we need to put money into this problem.”
