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26 November 2008

Women were mostly abused because they were not empowered to deal with the ills of the society, Mpumalanga Safety and Security Member of Executive Council (MEC) Siphosezwe Masango said. Speaking at the launch of the 16 Days of Activism of No Violence against Women and Children in Ermelo, MEC Masango said women were abused because they were poor, unemployed, illiterate, ignorant and single parents.

MEC Masango said some women ended up drinking and becoming vulnerable to abuse by men as they became desperate for financial favours. Unemployed women financially depended on their spouses and ended up sacrificing their lives for cash which leads to abuse, physically and emotionally. He said they ended up being raped, beaten, and sometimes did not report case because they depended on their abusive spouses for financial support.

"Most of abuse to women and children is not done by strangers but family members. During this campaign, we encourage communities not to look away but speak out and be heard. There is still a belief in most societies that men are more superior to women, therefore women get oppressed and their rights get violated," he said.

"There is a need to put money in the hands of women in a productive way to develop the country. Therefore, they would not depend on abusive men," he said. MEC Masango said women needed to be empowered and be at the same level with men in order for South Africa to move forward with development.

He explained that the new government's vision was to create an equal, caring and humane society which will uplift women. It is in this regard that the 16 Days of No Violence against Women and Children Campaign was introduced in 1996. Meanwhile, the South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID) Chairperson Mathulare Coleman said since the dawn of democracy, South Africa had prioritized the protection of women and children. She said the country should move from dialogue to development of women because women were more affected by abuse than men.

"Men can be abused but history tells me that women are more affected. I am making a call on South Africans to find a role in re-building families and morale in communities. I therefore challenge our communities to speak out and expose perpetrators. We need to acknowledge that abuse on women and children is mostly perpetrated by men; we strongly encourage their participation in mobilising communities to promote the rights of women and children. We need to have a proud nation that respects women and children," said Coleman.

A Mpumalanga Junior Commissioner R M Maredi said it pained her that at her young age she had to speak about communities who kept quite while children were repeatedly abused. She added that some children were abused by women who use them for financial gains. They forced them to sexually activities with older men for personal gains. "Women do not report cases of abuse because of three things namely, hope, shame and fear. Women hope that one day things will get better. They are ashamed of a stigma they will have if they report and they fear that they will loose support from their abusive men," she said.

Enquiries:
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Issued by: Department of Safety and Security, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
26 November 2008
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government (http://www.mpumalanga.gov.za)