More than a quarter of all gender-based violence (GBV) cases in the Western Cape were reported to one of only ten precincts.
This was revealed at the provincial government’s Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Summit on Thursday when it was announced that nearly 30% of GBV cases were being investigated by less than a dozen police stations.
The precincts with the highest levels of reported GBV cases are Delft, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Harare, Nyanga, Kraaifontein, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Worcester and Kleinvlei. Together, these stations reported 27% of all GBV cases in the province.
During Thursday’s presentation, police representatives said GBV peaks over weekends and between 9pm and midnight, with women between the ages of 26 and 35 most likely to be victims.
In nearly three quarters (74%) of reported cases, victims were in a close relationship with or knew the perpetrator. More than half of the reported incidents took place in the victim or perpetrator’s home.
“Gender-based violence and femicide remain one of our biggest and most pressing problems,” said Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, saying that the province needed to place increased focus on reducing the number of women falling victim.
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The premiers said that the GBV command centre recorded more than 400 cases in a year, adding that these instances were only those reported, and it was likely much higher.
The most recent quarterly crime statistics, between April and June, indicate that 116 women were murdered in the Western Cape, a 25% year-on-year increase.
Another 159 attempted murder cases were reported, along with 1 997 assault cases.
Despite these starting statistics, Winde said the province was starting to see the benefits of its safety plan, implemented three years ago.
He added that a key component of this plan had been the rollout of Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers.
“In areas, where LEAP officers were deployed, there was a decrease in murder,” said the premier.
He pointed out that the murder rate in Mitchells Plain had decreased by 42% in the last quarter, by 12% in Khayelitsha, and by 16% in Kraaifontein, compared to the national murder rate which increased by 11%
“I want to see a dashboard that shows the numbers and what we’re doing to decrease them. This [is] about getting ahead of gender-based violence,” he added.
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