Cape Town - The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) on the Garden Route said it was alarmed at the number of juveniles involved in gender-based violence (GBV).
In applauding work done by detectives to apprehend suspects linked to GBV-related crimes, the FCS unit revealed that three out of every 12 suspects who were apprehended during a recent crime-tracing operation were minors.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said detectives apprehended 12 suspects in connection with sexual offences.
“Initially, police arrested three suspects for various sexual offences in Pacaltsdorp, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. However, as the operation continued, police apprehended nine other suspects, three of whom were juveniles,” Pojie said.
While minors perpetrating sexual offences is not a new phenomenon in South Africa, there has been an increase of 22% in sexual offences committed by children since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Centre for Child Law based in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria (UP).
Centre for Child Law candidate attorney Fortunate Mongwai said child justice matters needed to be addressed with sensitivity while taking into account the age and vulnerability of the children involved.
“It is difficult to tell what enables an environment where children become perpetrators of such violent offences. There is a need to understand the criminal mind of a child and the push factors for them committing such offences.
“We need to do ground research by social workers who work closely with children who conflict with the law regarding sexual offences so that we can better understand what pushes them to such an extent,” Mongwai said.
Anti-GBV organisation Ilitha Labantu said that it was deeply concerned by this phenomenon because as the years went by, perpetrators were becoming younger.
“This comes as a result of societal influences on children. We are raising children in communities riddled with crime, violence and abuse, and we have built a culture that has normalised these atrocious acts. These acts of violence are underpinned by the culture of misogyny and toxic masculinity,” Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said.
“We need government, civil society, the private sector and communities alike to play their part in actively addressing the issue of violence and abuse that is plaguing our homes and communities. Failure to address this will see a continuation of similar trends.”