The scourge of domestic violence during lockdown has been termed “the shadow pandemic” as organisations working with women and children raise concerns about the prevalence of a gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.
It is almost a year since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that R1.1 billion would be redirected to the fight against GBV.
A webinar titled “Domestic Violence in South Africa: What do we really know about the impact of Covid-19 in lockdown” was hosted this week by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Advocate Bernadine Bachar, director at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, said support from government departments to GBV victims was inadequate.
“Survivors need assistance with psychosocial support, shelter, second stage housing, substance abuse support, child protection and legal assistance, which we offer at the centre,” she said.
In addition, survivors experience immense challenges with receiving sensitive and comprehensive support from the police.
“We have heard many accounts of women being turned away from both police stations and domestic violence courts,” Bachar said.
She added that the shelters needed funding to render comprehensive and extensive services to victims of domestic violence.
She believed that if they were adequately funded, they could concentrate on rendering services instead of focusing on keeping their doors open.
“This issue needs to be dealt with urgently and comprehensively by the national department of social development,” she said.
While Ramaphosa allocated a budget specifically for dealing with GBV, it appears that very little actionable change has occurred since then.
Bachar added: “It is unconscionable that research has shown that correctional services receive over three times the amount of funding to assist perpetrators than shelters receive to support their victims.”
Activist and rape survivor Mbali Shongwe echoed Bachar’s sentiment. She related how the justice system had failed her after her case was closed in April without any investigation conducted.
Shongwe highlighted the police’s insensitivity towards survivors and how victims often experienced secondary trauma at police stations.
“Many survivors are scared to report cases, and some end up not reporting their attacks because of the response and treatment received from SAPS.
“We want a change in the way officers are trained or the introduction of reliable support networks that work in conjunction with the police,” she said.
The 22-year-old activist wants the government to approach issues with transparency.
“We want the government to handle situations with accountability. We are asking for more tangible methods to be implemented to help women.
“Government addresses the issues when they speak to us, but there is no action plan or anything we can use to hold them accountable.”
Wits University research associate Lisa Vetten told the webinar that the frequency of domestic violence had increased since lockdown started last year.
A pivotal factor, Vetten shared, was the change in household composition at the start of lockdown. In 2017, 48% of men were living in households with children compared to the past year which saw an increase of 61%.
“These rapid changes took place within a context that forced individuals whose relationships with one another may have already been conflictual and/or abusive (to be confined to the same space), while simultaneously isolating them from help,” Vetten said.
She added: “While confining every person to their residence was intended to contain the epidemic, it also had the unintended effect of making the household the most likely site of violence during this period – households that were already home to a great deal of conflict.”
In the first week of lockdown, the GBV Command Centre received 2300 calls. The sad reality is that not all calls translate to cases due to a lack of access and support.
Vetten reported that during lockdown, only 3.2% of calls became cases.
In the Western Cape, a total of 429 GBV cases were reported last year. The total per month escalated throughout lockdown levels 5, 4, and 3 – when women were mostly constrained to their homes.
Western Cape Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz has requested an investigation by the police ombudsman into the inefficiencies of police to deal with GBV and femicide.
Fritz also acknowledged that the victims were not receiving enough support.
“We know that victims of gender-based violence are not receiving the appropriate service and treatment at SAPS stations. SAPS is keen to improve the service,” he said.
The new police ombudsman, Major-General Oswald Reddy would be informed of the investigation in his first engagement with Fritz.
Hospitals and the way they present their data also play a crucial role in policing domestic violence, said Vetten. She believed that medical centres should collect their data, to make the identification of cases easier.
Gender-based violence statistics were not stipulated in hospital reports, admissions or the nature of injuries, she said.
“We need more detailed data. Data is about help-seeking, not prevalence.”
Victims of GBV can contact the National Shelter Movement on 0800 001 005, a 24-hour toll-free helpline.
Weekend Argus