President Cyril Ramaphosa says his administration is forging ahead with plans to change laws relating to gender-based violence.
Addressing the nation on Wednesday night, Ramaphosa said: “Legislative amendments have been prepared around, among other things, minimum sentencing in cases of gender-based violence, bail conditions for suspects, and greater protection for women who are victims of intimate partner violence”.
The country has been rocked by the brutal murders of several women by their male partners in the period since lockdown Alert Level 3 kicked in on 1 June.
They include Altecia Kortjie, 27 and her daughter Raynecia, seven, who were found stabbed to death at the home of her estranged boyfriend in Belhar.
Police have arrested Ryan Kyle Smith, 28, the nephew of alleged Sexy Boys gang boss, Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, for the murders.
Ramaphosa gave assurances that courts have been firm in dealing with cases of gender-based violence even during the lockdown period and have handed down life sentences and multiple life sentences to perpetrators.
”I want to assure the women and children of South Africa that our criminal justice system will remain focused on gender-based violence cases and that we can expect more arrests and more prosecutions against perpetrators to follow,” Ramaphosa promised.
He said the brutality of the crimes against women defied comprehension, and suggested that alcohol abuse was the reason for the spike in violent crimes since 1 June.
”We need to examine the effect of alcohol abuse not only on levels of violence, but also on road accidents and reckless behaviour. Several international and domestic studies show clear linkages between alcohol abuse and gender-based violence,” he said.