KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli has called on victims of gender-based violence (GBV) to stop withdrawing cases against their abusers in exchange for cash, saying this fuels the problem. “The sad part is that GBV takes place indoors and within families. We are faced with a crisis which has been declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa as a disaster.
We need to stand up together,” said Ntuli. He called on parents to stop telling their married daughters who were being abused to stay in their relationship. Ntuli was speaking after leading a march from King Dinizulu Park to the Durban city hall on Thursday as part of the province’s 365 days against GBV #silwanechilo call to communities.
He said KwaZulu-Natal was the epicentre of GBV in South Africa and demanded a holistic approach which included all sectors, from religion to business, to fight the problem. WATCH: KZN premier Thami Ntuli is leading a march against the scourge of GBV at the Durban city centre. Ntuli is also expected to launch a year=long campaign against the scourgepic.twitter.com/MK8ngUfI1b Media personalityJacinta Ngobese-Zuma, the founder of March — an organisation geared towards countering the influx of illegal immigrants — said the proliferation of drugs and alcohol abuse were the main GBV triggers.
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“We often get unnoticed because there is a perception that we are targeting certain people. What we are fighting is the illegal activities which are going on. Most of the things which are going wrong stem from the drugs which are being sold,” she said.
“We need to come together and put a stop to the illegal activities. Please be aware that those tuck shops that sell expired food are also a home for drug dealers. Let us not take what they are doing for granted.” Langalakhe Zwane, vice-chair of the eThekwini Men’s Sector, said some prison inmates opened up to him about the domestic conflicts which led to them to prison.
“We need men to open up and raise issues before they have brushes with the law. What we often find is that some of them feel as they have been left to their own devices. They feel isolated about not having a proper platform to vent about their woes,” said Zwane.
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