26 Feb 2020

Domestic and sexual abuse remains a cause for concern, and cannot be solved if victims do not report cases or withdraw them, Kanye principal magistrate, Mr Daniel Nkau has said.

At the commemoration of the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) and rape recently, Mr Nkau said withdrawal of GBV  cases made it difficult for the law enforcement agencies to protect the lives of children, thus making a higher percentage of people at risk of violence.

“GBV is against the republic, not an individual.

Usually, victims end up withdrawing the case due to their dependency on the perpetrators, but the perpetrators need to be held accountable,” he said.

He said such deed reflected the extent in which victims were condoning the behaviour, adding that in most cases perpetrators who were forgiven, may end up committing the same offence, thus being the danger to others, while in fact that behaviour could have long been corrected.

He, therefore, advised the community to ensure that they acted in addressing the issues of gender-based violence and rape, adding that it needed immediate redress.

“This is a cause for concern, you need to wake up from the slumber and take action,” he said.

Mr Nkau cautioned all against ignoring such cases as violence could happen to anyone, even those close to them.

“Rape respects no territorial boundaries and so is gender-based violence.

It is a cruel trauma and the scars that come about as a result of sexual ravaging do not heal easily,” he said.

He noted this may be a contribution to the reason some women end up hating all men.

He, therefore, warned everyone who had the desire to rape to understand the consequences that came with it.

“I often ask such perpetrators why they have to sacrifice their freedom for a moment’s pleasure and forfeit their freedom and future,” he said.

Mr Nkau also warned against violence, adding that the hands were only made to work and not to harm others.

“Love is not meant to kill or harm others.

It is our responsibility to control our emotions even when things are not going our way,” he said.

He called out to all men to retrospect and establish if they were on track when it came to issues of rape and GBV, and ascertain how they could contribute in combating GBV.

Mr Nkau noted that women and children lived in fear as most of their lives were threatened.

“Issues of GBV cut across all ages, but parents should do more to protect their children against GBV and report such cases so that we eliminate such people from our community,” he said.

He advised parents not to leave all the responsibility to teachers, but also teach and empower their children to recognise GBV ehen it manifested.

“Most of the guidance should be conducted by the parents at home.

We need to teach our children to be assertive and allow them to be inquisitive so that they can understand everything,” he said.

Deliberating on the objectives of the day, Sejelo station commander, Superintendent, Mogomotsi Matlapeng encouraged the community to stand against gender violence and rape.

He said the event was meant to encourage the nation to educate everyone on the fight against GBV and rape and also seek to support the fight against gender based violence and rape.

“This event is meant to sensitise the public on the results of GBV and rape and also discourage keeping the issues of GBV and rape as secrets,” he said. ENDs