Amnesty SA calls for systems overhaul to better tackle GBV
Amnesty International South Africa has appealed to authorities to tighten laws around gender-based violence offences in South Africa,
saying suspects are walking freely in the streets.
The human rights organisation says the country’s criminal justice system needs to be fixed.
"One of the biggest problems is the broken criminal justice system. It's because of this failing system, and more importantly, the shoddy investigative work, that there is no deterrent for perpetrators because they are unlikely to find themselves in court or facing time in prison," said spokesperson for Amnesty South Africa, Genevieve Quintal.
In recent incidents in KwaZulu-Natal, the bodies of two elderly women who were reported missing on Women’s Day were discovered in a shallow grave on Friday next to the creche they worked at in Umgababa, south of Durban.
Another 35-year-old woman who was about to give birth to her twins was found strangled to death near her home in Ehlanzeni, west of Umkomaas last Monday, while police are also searching for a known suspect believed to have killed ANC veteran Doreen Manzi and her daughter in Chatsworth earlier this month.
"It's quite clear that there needs to be a complete overhaul of the SAPS and its investigation system so that it is fit for purpose to deal with extremely high levels of crime. We continue to speak about this yet there's no accountability from the police. The investigation of cases is dismal, and this has been allowed to continue without any consequences for those who fail to do their jobs properly," Quintal added.
