Following the resurface of the scourge of gender-based violence in the country, where young women have been deprived of their right to live by ruthless men, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) calls for the immediate appointment of a national structure for Gender-Based Violence and Femicide as resolved by last year’s Gender-Based Violence Summit as well as the allocation of budget for gender-based violence programmes in the Ministry of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
The absence of these two in the country provides a fertile ground for those men with satanic motives to easily capture their targets and victimize them in the worst form of abuse. Since the reported cases of abuse and killings of young women, this department cannot act or make any promise because it does not have a budget for programmes to fight gender-based violence in the country and it is only reduced to providing a lip service. This lack of budget is reflective of a gender-blind and gender insensitive planning and budgeting on key government mandates.
As conviction rate for sexual abuse cases by perpetrators remains very low in our courts due to poor collection of evidence, amongst other factors, DENOSA believes strongly that forensic nursing specialty can assist the country greatly in this regard if this specialty were to be recognised as specialty by the nursing regulatory body, the South African Nursing Council (SANC). Because nurses are majority health professionals, those who would undergo this specialty, and be remunerated for it, have the capability to treat an abused patient in a way that also collects evidence for law enforcement agencies. This will result in the increase in conviction rate of perpetrators of sexual abuse.
DENOSA calls for the speedy adoption and implementation of the Gender-Based Violence & Femicide Strategic Plan 2020-2030 which identifies barriers to preventing gender-based violence at a high political level and provides solutions thereof.
Furthermore, DENOSA implores the State President to declare state of emergency on gender-based violence in the country, which will serve as a shield to many potential victims of this form of abuse.
On the increase of attacks directed at foreign nationals and demolition of their properties, DENOSA would like to call on law enforcement agencies to act swiftly in preventing these attacks and maintaining order as most people suffer untold damage at the hands of criminal acts.
DENOSA would like to express a concern over injuries that are caused by these attacks on the victims, and the further pressure they cause on our healthcare system at the time when there are severe shortages of staff and resources in public health facilities. Severe injuries and burns are generally treated as priorities in casualties across our facilities, and the more these cases get referred to hospitals and clinics the furthest patients who have arrived hours before will have to be moved back on the queues. These inflicted injuries on victims cost facilities thousands of Rands as well.
Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)
For more information, contact:
Thandeka Msibi, DENOSA 2nd Deputy President
Mobile: 082 328 9845