South African communities launched into a march, calling for justice as gender-based violence (GBV) continues to plague society. #JusticeForCwecwe, a trending hashtag in social media, sparked heated conversations about South Africa’s damaged justice system.
In the meantime, the long-standing case of Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso ended on Wednesday, 2 April 2025. This ignited extra frustration and anger amongst South Africans.
Perpetrators of GBV proceed to roam free as justice stays elusive
Extra typically, youngsters are violated by folks meant to guard them. On the identical time, youngsters ought to really feel protected and safe throughout their childhood.
Talking to eNCA, Kids’s Parliament President Khazimla Adam condemned South Africa’s damaged justice system for failing to deal with the case of seven-year-old Cwecwe successfully. Regardless of reporting the rape to police in October 2024, Cwecwe’s mom noticed no motion taken for 5 months. This highlights systemic failures in regulation enforcement.
In one more case, the ruling of Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso by the Jap Cape Excessive Courtroom on 2 April 2025 has sparked widespread backlash, with many questioning the authorized system. Omotoso and his co-accused, Zukiswa Sitho and Lusanda Sulani, confronted 63 costs of rape and human trafficking.
Nevertheless, all proof delivered to the courtroom was deemed inadequate. Latest stories of those instances sparked anger and frustration amongst South Africans, taking it to the streets with a march.
GBV, an alarming concern
On 25 November 2024, South Africa’s Police Minister launched the second-quarter crime statistics for the 2024-2025 monetary 12 months. The statistics revealed an 8.6 proportion level enhance within the alarmingly excessive incidents of assault with intent to trigger grievous bodily hurt and homicide price of girls. This highlights the necessity for societal consciousness and to behave in opposition to GBV, femicide, sexual violence and homicide.
The Division of Science, Innovation and Expertise additionally commissioned a pivotal examine by the Human Sciences Analysis Council (HSRC) on 10 December 2024. The examine introduced by Dr Nompumelelo Zungu revealed that 7 310 389 girls have skilled bodily violence of their lifetime. That is 33.1% of all South African girls aged 18 years and older.
Furthermore, about 2 150 342, which is 9.9% of girls, had been revealed to have skilled sexual violence of their lifetime. Additional to this, the examine discovered no vital distinction within the prevalence of bodily intimate accomplice violence amongst ever-partnered girls with a incapacity (4.3%) and ladies with no incapacity (5.3%). The rising instances of violence in opposition to girls and kids, in addition to the alarming statistics, trigger nice concern.
What it means to be a lady in SA
South African girls don’t really feel protected. It’s a nice betrayal that a few of these crimes are carried out by these with whom the victims have shut, private relationships. Up to now few years, girls’s month celebrations resembled memorial ceremonies for the victims of among the most horrific femicides and acts of violence in opposition to girls. But this month, the nation must be celebrating the numerous victories of its girls.
How can the justice system be held accountable?
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