Johannesburg - The shooting of a nurse at Tembisa Hospital highlights the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide, according to the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE).
The commission’s chairperson, Tamara Mathebula, sent condolences to the nurse’s family, saying they trusted that they would find comfort and solace during this time of unimaginable distress.
“As part of our constitutional and legal mandate, the commission will be monitoring the development around this matter, taking into cognisance that the perpetrator of this heinous crime is also fighting for his life. We believe that justice will prevail,” Mathebula said.
The CGE said it had been highlighting the scourge of brutal intimate partner violence in the country over the years.
It said the incident once again placed the spotlight on the challenge of GBV in general and the emotive problem of intimate partner violence in particular.
The commission explained that during the annual national campaign of 16 Days of Activism, it regularly used various platforms to highlight the worrying and increasing numbers of intimate partner killings.
The gender equality organisation regarded Tembisa as one of the hot spots in Gauteng.
“This places a great obligation and duty on the part of the law enforcement and security authorities to increase vigilance and heighten security around public facilities, including schools in the light of the recent incident where a deputy school principal was also shot and killed at one of the schools in the province,” it said.
It implored South Africans to join hands as part of the 365 Days of Activism to continue raising awareness of the scourge of GBV.
Political Bureau