We in South Africa have a quite a few issues that need to be fixed Eskom, The postal service, corruption in government unemployment and of course crime
Under Crime we have farm murders housebreaking general theft murders fraud and the scourge of our society Gender based violence.
We have had in the first quarter of this year 868 women murdered in gender based violence almost double from the same period in 2021. We are the rape capital of the world. In 2021 we had 66196 per 100000 reported rape cases and many cases are not reported.
And spousal abuse is worse. Physical mental and financial abuse is on the increase. We can blame it on Covid or unemployment but ultimately the blame rests with the government who seem totally powerless to stop it.
Yes the ladies can get restraining orders granted by the courts but getting them served is well night impossible. Too often we hear stories of police having no personnel to serve the restraining order and if there are personnel to serve the order the police have no vehicles available mostly because they are in need of repair.
So how do we fix this Indabas don’t help provide solutions, Men yes men because we are the cause of the problem need to put on their big boy pants and realize women are not our slaves that we can whip beat and kill just as the mood takes us. For me fixing the issue is really simple murder deserves the death sentence. I know the psychologists among us will say that the death sentence is not a deterrent but I can guarantee that the offender will not do it again.
Sadly that option is not open to us. The alternative is life imprisonment with no parole and that is an option
The good news in all of this is the courts are waking up to the scourge of this country and are imposing heavy sentences-3 life terms in yesterday’s newslong may this continue. All it need is for the police to get their act together with correct procedures and paperwork and we might be in with a shout to put a dent in this crime.
To all the ladies that have suffered GBV our heart goes out to you and hope that one day soon this tide will turn
On other issues crime and hijacking are on the increase in KZN as the criminals become far more brazen, so please take all the necessary precautions both at home and when driving and be safe out there
MARTYN SMITHERSMidillovo Case 09/08/2022
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On the 08/08/2022 at approximately 12:00 there was a report of a burnt body in a sugarcane field in the Eston area. Members from Magma Security & Investigations along with Midillovo SAPS attended the scene. On attendance of the scene it was established that the victim was a female burnt beyond recognition. It was also further discovered during the postmortem that the said female was pregnant at the time.
On Tuesday 2022 /10/25 members from Magma Security & Investigations followed up on information regarding the murder. A suspect was then arrested with the assistance of Midillovo Detectives and detained for further investigation and questioning
Recovery of stolen motor vehicle Alexandra Road Case number 393/10/2022
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On 25/10/2022 at approximately 07h20 there was a report of an orange Toyota Hilux ND446891 stolen in Scottsville. The motor vehicle was fitted with TRACKER SA was then activated and tracked to Thornville area where it was recovered by members from Tracker Connect and Magma Security & Investigations. The motor vehicle was then handed over to members from Thornville SAPS and taken to PMB vehicle storage unit for further processing and safekeeping.
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• Estcourt SAPS
On 2022/10/26 at ±23h00 whilst Magma Anti Hijacking Unit Armed Response vehicle was escorting a client’s truck on the N3 Freeway from Durban to Gauteng, they were informed that there was a hijacking in progress at the Estcourt turn off, involving 3 armed suspects. Magma Anti Hijacking members escorted the client’s truck to the Midway Garage for safety reasons, thereafter responded to the hijacking complaint.
When the members reached the crime scene the suspects were spotted fleeing into the bush. The anti-hijacking members then made contact with Magma Specialized Operation and Investigation members to come and assist them to search for the suspects.
The back-up members arrived at the crime scene along with members of Estcourt SAPS. After an intensive search 2 suspects were apprehended. The truck drivers’ property was recovered as well as a .38 special revolver. Suspects were detained at Estcourt SAPS to be charged and for further investigation.
CASE: Durban Central 205/03/2022 read with Camperdown 13/03/2022
Accused: S v Nkululeko Duma and Sizwe Gumede aged
Vehicle stolen from North Beach. Vehicle was reported stolen to Tracker Connect.
Vehicle was tracked on N3 near Lynnfield en route to Pietermaritzburg. A Magma Security officer and a Tracker Connect recovery officer stopped and recovered the vehicle. Accused 2 attempted fleeing the scene, but was however apprehended after being caught hiding in the bushes. Both accused sentenced to 08 years direct imprisonment.
Well done to Acting Regional Court Prosecutor Ms Andile Ndlovu (Specialist Unit) who secured a conviction and jail sentence in her first trial in Regional Court.
Cst Khanyile [VCIU – Isipingo] is also acknowledged for her dedicated efforts in the investigation and taking the matter to finality. #SwiftJustice #BackTheBlue #TrackerConnect #MagmaSecurity
* Armed Robbery * Murder
Richmond Cas 73/10/2022 Richmond Cas 74/10/2022
* Magma Security & Investigations * Provincial Special Investigations Tracking Team * Provincial Organised Crime Projects Team * RRP Cross Border & Freight Unit
Investigations were conducted and information was followed up on Richmond Cas 73/10/2022 and Richmond Cas 74/10/2022 being a business robbery and murder of a reaction officer from Magma Security and Investigations. The Magma officer had been passing by the scene of the robbery and was flagged down by the store’s private security guard. In the process of going to the assistance of the said guard he was subsequently ambushed and gunned down by the armed robbers.
On 10/11/2022 the operational team stopped a vehicle linked to the abovementioned matters in the Highflats Area. Suspects alighted and opened fire at the members resulting in 3 suspects being fatally wounded. Two pistols, two shotguns and an air rifle were recovered as well as cash and cellphones.
It was further established that same suspects had also committed a carjacking in the Ixopo area and a house robbery in Highflats Cas 34/11/2022
House Robbery
He wrapped a tie around her neck and pulled it tight. It was a brutal mockery of the marriage vow — “to have and to hold” — and a stark symbol of his compulsive need to remind her who was in charge.
But even as she struggled to breathe, the torture, for Mara Glennie, had only just begun.
He pushed her over to a bowl of water, and held her head down. He had learned the method in the military, as a means of extracting information from uncooperative captives.
For almost 20 years, she had been his wife, and now, she felt like his prisoner too. But on that day, Mara made the decision that would forever change her life.
Black-eyed and bruised, she limped into the police station to lay a charge against her husband. It was six o’clock on a Friday night.
The officer behind the desk looked at her and listened to her story of violence and abuse. Then he told her to come back on Monday morning, in the hope that one of his colleagues might be able to assist. Mara just stood there, the tears flowing.
“I felt hopeless and filled with despair,” she recalls. “I really needed someone to take me in their arms and tell me I’d be okay.”
Mara, a successful entrepreneur and business-owner, had never felt as lonely as she did at that moment. And yet, she knew she wasn’t alone.
Thousands of women and young girls fall victim to gender-based violence in South Africa every year, and our national femicide rate, according to the World Health Organisation, is five times higher than the global average.
As it turned out, Mara did not go back to the police station that Monday morning. Instead, because she had nobody she could turn to for help, she vowed to find a way to be of help to others. And that’s how TEARS was born.
From her dining-room table, with a phone
in her hand and a blank spreadsheet in front of her, Mara began collating and coordinating a database of national organisations that were committed to fighting gender-based violence, and providing support and resources to its victims.
In 2012, working with a small team of volunteers, and using an acronym that came to her in a dream, she founded TEARS — Transforming Education About Rape & Sexual abuse — a non-profit foundation dedicated to “bringing hope and healing” to young girls and women in their hour of greatest need.
Funded by grants and donations, TEARS provides a free 24-hour SMS helpline service, on *134*7355#, to anyone who has access to a cellphone.
The service connects victims to a network of nationwide facilities that offer counselling, medical attention, support groups, volunteering opportunities, and access to emergency shelters.
But more than anything else, what TEARS offers is empathy, understanding, compassion, and practical advice and insight, born from painful experience.
For Mara, the memories of her abusive relationship are still raw.
She credits her deeply-held faith for her survival — “against all odds”, as she puts it — as well as for the sense of mission that drives and energises her, even in the face of physical and emotional cruelty that has lost none of its power to shock even the most hardened members of her team.
“People often say to me, Mara, how can you carry on doing such a horrible job?” she says. “But I don’t look at it that way. I see it as an opportunity, every single day, to help people, to save their lives, to change their lives, to make a difference. It’s my life’s work, and I find it extremely rewarding.”
Already, TEARS has helped more than half-a-million victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse across South Africa, and has reached some 44-million people through its public service education campaigns and initiatives.
As testimony to its power to spread hope and healing, TEARS has won several awards, including an MTN Award for Social Change, a Gold Stevie Award for Women in Business, and a Silver Award for Service Excellence in the Social Transformation and Social Development category of the Gauteng Premier’s Service Excellence Awards.
But for Mara, the greatest reward is simply knowing that young girls and women in South Africa have someone to turn to, someone to talk to, someone to share the pain and lead the way towards healing, in their time of tears.
*For more information on TEARS, please visit https://www.tears.co.za The 24-hour free TEARS SMS helpline is accessible from any cellphone, on *134*7355#.
HERE ARE THE 10 COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST RAPE RATES:
1. Botswana - 92.93
2. Lesotho - 82.68
3. South Africa - 72.10
4. Bermuda - 67.29
5. Sweden - 63.54
6. Suriname - 45.21
7. Costa Rica - 36.70
8. Nicaragua - 31.60
9. Grenada - 30.63
10. Saint Kitts and Nevis - 28.62
The most recent crime statistics released in South Africa tell a horrific story –particularly for women and children. 392 children in South Africa were killed in just 90 days last year, with another 394 surviving attempted murder. 2,048 additional children were victims of physical assault in the same period.
• It is estimated that approximately 35% of women worldwide have experienced sexual harassment in their life
• South Africa has the highest rape rate in the world of 132.4. Some 66,196 incidents in per 100,000 people. According to a survey conducted by the South African Medical Research Council, approximately one in four men surveyed admitted to committing rape, according to World Population Review data.
• Domestic violence has the most repeat victims of any other crime in that a victim suffers 35 assaults on average before reporting it to the police the first time.
• South Africa’s female homicide rate is six times above the global average.
• 1 in 3 women, 1 in 3 girls, 1 in 5 boys will be raped in their lifetime.
• A child is raped in South Africa every 3 minutes.
• Most of them are young girls between 3 & 12 years old.
• 93% cases the perpetrators are known to the victim (7% stranger, 59% Acquaintance’s, 34% family members).
• 7 Women a day, die at the hands of their intimate partners, in South Africa.
• Only 1 in 4 rapes are reported.
• Total 23 226 teenagers’ pregnancies have been reported in Gauteng only in the period April 2020 – March 2021, in the Gauteng area Only.
• About 3500 babies are abandoned unsafely in South Africa each year
• Police minister General Bheki Cele stated that 9 556 people were raped between July and September 2021. This is an increase of 634 cases, amounting to a 7.1% increase over the previous reporting period. A sample of 6 144 rape cases revealed that 3 951 of the rape incidents took place at the home of the victim or rapist. – Health-e News.
are the 10 countries with the highest rape rates:
Botswana 92.93
Lesotho 82.68 3. South Africa 72.10 4. Bermuda 67.29 5. Sweden 63.54 6. Suriname 45.21 7. Costa Rica 36.70 8. Nicaragua 31.60 9. Grenada 30.63 10. Saint Kitts and Nevis 28.62
• It is estimated that over 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime and that only 1 in 9 rapes are reported. It is also estimated that 14% of perpetrators of rape are convicted in South Africa.
• While attrition rates differ at the different stages, most studies show that the highest attrition occurs at the police investigation phase, and most reported cases (81.5% of cases from the RAPSSA Report) never make it to trial.
• The National Adoption Coalition of South Africa estimated that, in 2010, 3500 babies were abandoned unsafely. In 2020, out of a total of 83 infants found unsafely abandoned, only 34 were found alive an the other 49 were found dead
– TOP 3
• A total of 90 037 schoolgirls aged 10 to 19 gave birth in South Africa in the past year (2021 – 2022) This alarming figure was revealed by Basic Education Angie Motshekga last week in her written response to parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education.
The most recent crime statistics released in South Africa tell a horrific story –particularly for women and children. 392 children in South Africa were killed in just 90 days last year, with another 394 surviving attempted murder. 2,048 additional children were victims of physical assault in the same period.
• About 150 women report being raped to SA police daily
• It is estimated that approximately 35% of women worldwide have experienced sexual harassment in their life
• Fewer than 30 cases will prosecute and no more than ten will result in a conviction
• South Africa has the highest rape rate in the world of 132.4. Some 66,196 incidents in per 100,000 people. According to a survey conducted by the South African Medical Research Council, approximately one in four men surveyed admitted to committing rape, according to World Population Review data.
• This translates into an overall conviction rate of 4% -8% of reported cases
• 0.3% of women in South Africa report gender-based violence to the police.
• Domestic violence has the most repeat victims of any other crime in that a victim suffers 35 assaults on average before reporting it to the police the first time.
• Four women are killed by their partners in South Africa every day.
• South Africa’s female homicide rate is
• 1 in 3 women, 1 in 3 girls, 1 in 5 boys will be raped in their lifetime.
• The second most common cause of these deaths occurs when women decide to end their relationships.
• A child is raped in South Africa every
• Most of them are young girls between
• 93% cases the perpetrators are known to the victim (7% stranger, 59% Acquaintance’s, 34% family members).
• Sexual offences against women increased from 31 665 in 2015/16 to 70 813 in 2016/17.
• 7 Women a day, die at the hands of their intimate partners, in South Africa.
• Only 1 in 4 rapes are reported.
• Domestic violence has the most repeat victims of any other crime in that a victim suffers 35 assaults on average before reporting it to the police the first time.
• Total 23 226 teenagers’ pregnancies have been reported in Gauteng only in the period April 2020 – March 2021
• About 3500 babies are abandoned unsafely in South Africa each year
• Police minister General Bheki Cele stated that between July and September 2021. This is an
• South Africa’s female homicide rate is six times above the global average.
• South Africa has the highest level of adult per capita alcohol consumption in Africa. Alcohol abuse contributes to increased levels of both Gender-Based Violence and HIV.
• South Africa has an estimated 6,800,000 people living with HIV, making it one of the countries with the highest infection rates in the world.
• Over 41% of rapes reported in South Africa involve children under age 18.
• Bheki Cele is failing the SAPS and South Africa. Every day 67 people are murdered, 153 people are raped and 364 violent robberies occur.
Gender-based violence has always existed in society to a certain degree but in recent years, a worldwide movement to combat gender-based violence has evolved due to the increasing number of reported cases. This has caused an international outcry from many organizations to take it more seriously thereby forcing government to implement initiatives to help combat it. This initiative then started a formulating groups to assist victims at ground level, and so the rise against GBV started.
There are several types of gender-based violence, ranging from child marriage to genital mutilation, forced marriage and spousal murder to honour killing, physical abuse, and acid throwing. And although considerable awareness has been raised about these concerns and remedial legislation has been promulgated, in recent years, it may still be difficult for survivors to access support services, open cases, seek justice, and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. This inevitably means that the numbers of gender-based violence victims are only increasing each year without suitable recourse.
In reality, no society condones violence against men or women. Every society has rules according to their specific culture, for what constitutes suitable behaviour between the genders and views regarding how the genders should interact. However, when these notions are used as instruments of control by one group against another, whether for personal benefit, societal control, or a mix of the two, we witness the emergence of destructive practises such as gender-based violence.
There are several definitions of genderbased violence, but in its simplest form it is regarded as the dominance of one gender against the other. It is not sorely dependent on a catalyst, meaning a social setting or situation, it is something deep rooted in oneself which displays itself as an emergence of violence or control. It begins in the mind of the individual and then protrudes. Genderbased violence is perpetrated against an individual on the basis of their gender.
Gender-based violence affects both men and women, but majority of victims are women, girls and members of the LGBQT groups.
Every day, between 120 and 150 rapes occur in South Africa.
Every day, three children are killed in South Africa. The Global Organized Crime Index puts South Africa nineteenth out of 193 nations in terms of crime.
The average mortality rate for women in South Africa due to interpersonal violence is 12.5 per 100,000.
South Africa is the leading rape capital. South Africa experiences a staggering +/- 2143 murders every month, or +/- 71 murders per day.
Although our country has phenomenal legislation written which has covered most areas of abuse which protects victims and their families, the legislation is reactive rather than proactive and it has no teeth.
It has become apparent from GBV statistics that GBV offenders repeat themselves and that is even after they have been arrested and convicted and that is because GBV is a mindset, they fall back into what they know, because it is a mental illness. Government should not only issue protection orders for victims but also send their offenders for court ordered counselling so that they are rehabilitated. This counselling will ensure that the offender gets the help which they need and will be fit to be in society again without further offenses. Our legislation was not created for punishment but rather to rehabilitate offenders. But we are not doing this. We merely offer the victims a protection order and pray to God the victim does not end up a statistic. We need to be proactive in this regard and assist the offender as well because it is in our power to do so. Sending an offender to jail is not going to prevent them from doing it again once they are released. We need to be more proactive and rehabilitate our offenders and not just punish them for their offense because this is a social problem which deeply effects our society.
Another form of being proactive in the plight for reformation of a GBV free society is education, preferably from a young age. Too much emphasis is placed on schools for subjects which form part of the curriculum, but we fail to teach our children life skills and now social media skills. As the world is changing, technology is changing, which means access to information is changing, but our curriculum is not. Children should have at least one subject which teaches them, to frankly, adult. How to integrate into an everchanging society and make responsible choices for their future. Part of those life skills which they need to be taught is GBV. As kids, you don’t know right from wrong until someone tells it to you. And if you grow up in a household which condones it, then you are more likely to be an offender yourself. It is only thru education that we can start redefining young minds and stop the cycle of abuse. Education through awareness is also another form, which I think government has done and many smaller organizations are
bridging that gap.
A social aspect which is also on the incline is the number of single-parent households. One can almost assume that that this too has added to the rise of GBV. During the last 10 years divorce rates have almost doubled and these statistics do not account for unmarried mothers /fathers who then assume responsibility for the child and raises the child independently. This is a softer social issue which has not been addressed yet by government but has a significant impact on kids which are raised in a survival mentality with a single parent. Government needs to take greater care in attending to the needs and mental health of these children so that they are upstanding members of society and not the downtrodden. Just giving a SASSA grant every month does not discharge government of their duty as the upper guardian of all children. More should be done in this regard to ensure their wellbeing as they now form the new generation and the new norm. It is not normal any longer to have both parents married to each other and living together, and that is a harsh reality which society need to prepare for and accept.
Although our legislation is seemingly brilliant, execution and implementation of legislation is also vitally important. This is an area which needs greater attention from the SAPS, since they have been charged with this duty in terms of the various Acts protecting those effected by GBV. Although assault is a criminal offense, because GBV can often happen between parties who are familiar with each other GBV disguises itself as a social issue and this can often blur the lines not only for the SAPS for also for the victims. This nuance plays a big part on why SAPS is slow to react or respond because of the familial relations. It would be unfair to say that the SAPS are totally inefficient if the training they are given does not include how to handle such situations but merely on the process and procedure. If our SAPS were properly trained on the seriousness of these offenses and to ignore the blurred line, I would like to think that they would do better.
The SAPS should increase their capacity on their Domestic Violence Units. On average, each detective is assigned over 300 cases. With such numbers, it is impossible for police officers to investigate cases effectively and the delay in finalising those cases can often lead to the death of the victims who had laid the charge.
If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, please reach out to SAPS and a domestic abuse organisation who can assist and guide you with protocols and support.
Iwas asked to do an article on this sensitive issue so that the community can see a simple version of quite a complex Act.
It is definitely a very emotional issue as violence from a spouse or loved one is often the cause of the unpleasantness. In my career I attended more than enough of these incidents to know that they are very complicated and the Police are sometimes called upon to resolve an issue that has been brewing and smouldering for years. What then is a domestic relationship? Not easy to define. A domestic relationship doesn’t just mean spouses or courting couples, it could be parents and children, grand-children, even siblings. There is no statute of limitations regarding time limits of the relationship and the cessation of that relationship.
Technically, if a person you dated five years ago for two weeks swears at you or threatens you, it falls under the Domestic Violence Act. (See how easy it is to abuse?)
The easiest way to explain how the system works is to walk you through it as an exercise. There are going to be some jargon-like numbers thrown around, like SAP508, but each will be explained and referred to as such. Note, to report the incident you can have a vehicle come to your home or work or you can go to the SAPS station in the area in which the incident happened. If the “location” is cyber, like a threatening SMS or email, report the matter to the Station where you live. (Conveying threats via telephone or email opens the suspect up to a host of other charges on top of Domestic Violence.) At the first meeting of the complainant and Police, the official will conduct an interview, in private if necessary, to determine what type of assistance is necessary.
The official will note injuries, severity of violence, if necessary make arrangements for medical assistance, shelter, place of safety, counselling (SafetyNet) and if a threat of firearm use is suspected or imminent.
will then be completed for EVERY complaint of domestic violence, whether a criminal case is desired or not. SAP508 A: A report of Domestic Violence.
