Cape Town - Khayelitsha Community Policing Forum (CPF), in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, rolled out its moral regeneration awareness programme, as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Abuse of Women and Children yesterday.
The programme, which will be rolled out until December 11, will go into communities and identify hotspots in these three police station precincts, while spreading awareness on the scourge.
Site B CPF secretary Phindile George said: “In Khayelitsha, we have been hit hard by these senseless killings and injuring of women and children. We have, just last week, witnessed the brutal killing of a lesbian, while we are still mourning many other women and children, who were killed and raped in Khayelitsha. We have witness reports of husbands, boyfriends, uncles, and people known to the victims, as the usual suspects of these crimes,” he said.
Harare CPF chairperson Funeka Soldaat said the programme was important to the communities, as they have seen in the past few months of lockdown that gender-based violence (GBV) had increased in the three areas, due to other societal issues which are influenced by drugs and substance abuse.
“We have noted the increase of GBV, especially after the lifting of the alcohol ban. As a result, we are working on programmes to ensure that there is responsible use of alcohol.
“We also want to introduce the CPF to the communities, so that they know they can always consult with us when they experience problems with the police.
“It’s always going to be a challenge for some of the police when dealing with GBV cases,” said Soldaat.
The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said they are part of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, and had partnered with other partners in the cluster in events against the scourge of GBV and femicide.
“At these events, we explain to members of the public the services available to them within the NPA.
“We advise them of the Thuthuzela Care Centres that are available throughout the region, which assist victims of abuse and other sexual offences, and of the specialised prosecutors we have who deal with sexual offences.
“We also advise them of the partnership we have with the FCS at police stations, where we ensure that a case is brought to the DPP office immediately, so that it is allocated to a prosecutor who will guide the investigation.”
Cape Argus