SCORES of women have taken a stand to say they are tired of not feeling safe in the streets and always looking over their shoulders.
To raise awareness about the safety of women especially at night, they engaged in a peaceful walk across the streets of Polokwane, Limpopo on Thursday night, 23 November, during the Bring Back the Night Walk campaign.
They walked through some of the streets that are regarded as dangerous, making stops on each of them to bring awareness to gender-based violence (GBV), give messages on prevention and the response against GBV.
They said they have a right to walk on the streets alone without the fear of being murdered or raped.
They carried placards written, “No bail for rapists and murderers. Don’t rape people. Don’t touch anyone but yourself. Justice is our right”, and many others.
Capricorn District Municipality’s Patience Napo urged men not to abuse women.
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“We must make sure that we strengthen the fight against GBV. When a victim has laid charges, let’s march to court and make sure that our justice system understands that there's no bail for abusers. If you know someone who is abusing someone and don’t report the issue, you must know that you are as guilty as the abuser,” she said.
The walk was also used to remember victims of GBV and highlighted the importance of supporting victims of rape and GBV.
Limpopo civil society’s Caroline Thema handed over a memorandum to Transport and Community Safety MEC Florence Radzilani and said it takes a community to end GBV.
Thema raised concerns about GBV cases that usually take time to be solved with perpetrators receiving bail or being set free with no accountability or arrest.
MEC Radzilani said: “When we fight for peace together in our own area, definitely God will protect us. We will work very hard to make sure that the province becomes safe for women. We hope the campaign will send a strong message to perpetrators that government is serious about this pandemic,” she said.
