Chair, hon Minister Lulu Xingwana, hon Deputy Minister Sotyu and hon members, good afternoon. I would like to start by presenting the following facts on domestic violence in South Africa.
Statistics on violence indicate the following facts: A woman is most likely to be killed and raped by a person she knows. The 2010-11 crime statistics indicate an increase in the number of reported rape cases from 55 097 to 56 272. A 2010 study conducted by Gender Links and the SA Medical Research Council reports that, on average, 25% of South African women will experience rape in their lifetime. The SA Police Service Crime Report for 2010-11 shows that 75% of rapes and 90% of assaults occur among people who know one another, as the Deputy Minister of Police said earlier in this honourable House.
Across the globe, when conflicts have ended, small arms often end up in the hands of criminals. Southern Africa in particular is awash with small arms that flow easily across the borders. The instability in Zimbabwe, the history of conflict in Mozambique and the relative ease with which arms can cross the borders of Botswana have no doubt made the proliferation of arms very easy.
The history of violence in South Africa also plays its role in the gun culture that has emerged and started to creep into the private domestic domain. The relative peace that South Africa enjoys today has come at a price.
The collapse of the militaristic and warmongering apartheid state, which specialised in undermining regimes and providing arms to Contra-style rebels, has left a significant proportion of arms in the hands of civilians and former combatants. While a large number of arms have been collected from civilians and eventually destroyed, many arms still remain in the hands of civilians and former combatants within Southern Africa.
These small arms are often traded on illicit markets and eventually find their way into our society and into our homes. As such, they become a threat to safety not only in the larger community but also in the private sphere of the home itself. Robberies, armed housebreakings, rapes, car hijackings and, ultimately, murders are committed using small arms that have found their way into South African society.
The culture of increased violence in South Africa threatens the very fabric of society itself. The fact that South Africa is still one of the states with a high rate of civilian violence also plays its role. According to research conducted by Ruchita Beri from the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, the proliferation of small arms has played a major role in robberies, rapes, hijackings, gangsterism and taxi violence. The increased circulation of pistols and revolvers has played a very big role in the violence increasingly permeating the domestic sphere.
It is not only unlicensed firearms that are wreaking havoc on our communities. The "house gun" - a leftover from apartheid South Africa - continues to play a destructive role in the South African home. We have heard many times of the "house gun" causing tragedy in the home, either as a result of domestic altercations that eventually degenerated into violence or as a result of accidents that occurred after children had gained access to the "house gun", bringing about untold misery in the home.
Many women and children have ended up being the victims of the very guns that were supposed to protect them in the home. It has often been the case that guns, licensed or not, have destroyed those they were meant to protect. In many of these cases a history of domestic violence was prevalent in the home. Until we move to a position of accepting and accelerating equality between men and women, the scourge of domestic violence will continue to blight our homes. The fight for justice, freedom and equality cannot be divorced from the fight for the rights of women.
The demand for guns in the household is created by a perception that communities are under siege. This is one of the factors that contribute towards the increase in licensed gun ownership. The belief that the presence of a firearm in the home increases one's level of safety reflects a very disturbing trend in our society. The mentality that has gripped South African society has resulted in many private security firms using firearms and promising immediate armed response. We thus have a society in which guns are normalised as a way of life. Indeed, in such a society it slowly becomes imprinted on the minds of our children that guns are a way of life and one cannot be safe without a gun. It becomes rooted in people's minds that guns solve problems.
The SAPS Crime Report of 2010-11 indicates that there has been a steady decline in crimes committed against women and children. However, we rightly remain concerned that crime against women and children has not been fully managed. With regard to crime classification, the kinds of assault known as grievous bodily harm, common assault and sexual offences remain very high in comparison to other forms of crime. We can thus deduce that we remain a highly violent society, one that is more likely to use violence to resolve disputes and address challenges. More often than not the victims are women and children.
According to the police's crime research and statistics, approximately 70% to 80% of murders, 60% of attempted murders, 75% of rapes and 90% of assaults occur among people who know one another. There can be no doubt that small arms play a role in most of these cases.
The ANC-led government's response - the establishment of the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, which is led by Ms Xingwana - has been correct. The people had spoken and so it was that at the 52nd conference of the ANC a resolution was adopted that we needed to have a special Ministry to focus specifically on issues that affected the most vulnerable in society. We also rely on the Justice cluster to ensure that we make the world a safer place in all aspects, particularly for our women and children.
In conclusion, let us as a country start having these debates. Let us talk about what we can rightly expect from government as the custodian of what it means to be a South African. What are the responsibilities that the state has towards our sense of safety, and what are the responsibilities that we as citizens have towards the state? [Applause.]