End of 16 days of activism: KZN Health MEC urges women to report abuse rather than "persevere" in abusive relationships

11 December 2019

KZN Health MEC Ms Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu says the slightest indication of abuse should prompt every woman to walk out of a relationship or marriage instead of turning the other cheek, because what starts as one slap often leads to death.

The MEC was speaking at Osizweni, Amajuba District (Newcastle) yesterday, at a community outreach programme to mark the end of the 16 Days of Activism on Violence Against Women and Children campaign.

She urged women to report all forms of abuse, and to desist from dropping criminal charges against their abusers. "If you're a victim of assault, do not wait for the second slap. The day he starts beating you up, he has lost your respect. That slap is the first of many to come. No matter how much he apologises, he will do it again. And when that time comes, it won’t just be a slap. So, this tendency of lodging cases and then withdrawing them is problematic because people end up losing their lives. It starts small. Women don’t get murdered straight away. It unfolds in gradual steps."

The MEC visited Madadeni SAPS, as well as the Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) at Madadeni Hospital, to get a sense of the process that survivors of Gender-Based Violence must follow in pursuit of justice.

During a briefing at the police station, the MEC was informed of a decision to drop the rape case of a three year-old girl, reportedly because the child was too young to testify. She vowed to fight for a re-assessment of the decision, and urged Amajuba District Mayor Dr Musa Ngubane, management of the police station, and hospital-based TCC to work closer together to ensure justice for the three year-old, and all survivors of Gender-Based Violence.

"We do not believe the rape of a three year-old should not be pursued just because some people say they will not be able to speak to the child. So, we will intervene. We know that this isn't the only such case."

Addressing a large gathering of local residents, the MEC welcomed a decision by government to launch a behavioural change campaign that will see activism against gender-based violence take place 365 days of the year.

She urged men across the Province to tap into their conscience and treat all women with the same level of respect as they would their own mothers and sisters. "When you rape, it means you’ve lost your own sense of respect as a human being. We have to ask ourselves what occurs in the mind of a man who sees a 'sexual partner' in a two year-old? What occurs in a man who sees a 'girlfriend' in his own daughter? But also, we as families need to take the blame because sometimes we are the ones who discourage taking action against perpetrators of gender-based violence, just because they 'put food on the table.

"What is most difficult is that a survivor will register a case of assault, but when the time comes for the matter to go to court, the complainant drops the charges. In some cases, these are victims of multiple instances of abuse. At some point, that complainant will not be the one registering case, but the police opening a murder docket when that person who used to be complainant has been murdered.

"When we were growing up, there was a school of thought that if your boyfriend didn't assault you, then he did not love you. But that is not true. No-one has a right to assault another. When we enter into a relationship, we do so on an equal footing... that we understand each other. We talk, and we negotiate power relations. No-one has a right to assault another. If you overpower me, then I must back off. If I’m too much for you, then you must back off."

She urged survivors of rape to go to the police station and present at a healthcare facility during the first 72 hours, so that they may receive post-exposure prophylaxis. She called on them not to wash their bodies until they are examined, in order to preserve crucial DNA evidence.

ENDS Issued on behalf of KZN Health MEC Ms Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu