Hon Deputy Speaker, we South Africans, have been shocked to the core in recent months by the extent of the violence perpetrated against defenceless babies, toddlers and teenagers. It makes one wonder whether the perpetrators are indeed human beings or monsters. What turns people into these callous killing and maiming machines? What has happened to the ubuntu for which South Africans used to be known? Why are we now known for these heinous crimes? In 2012 the International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol, reported that of all its member countries, South Africa had the highest number of reported rapes per head of the population. In 2011-12, more than 64 500 sexual offences were reported to the SA Police Service. In 2009, a study by the Medical Research Council, MRC, found that more than 25% of South African men had committed rape and of those nearly half said they had raped more than one person.
Underreporting of incidents of violence is an even a bigger issue. Research done by the MRC in Gender Links revealed that only one in 25 rapes in Gauteng was reported to the police. This points to the failure of the SAPS and the criminal justice system to deal with crime. It is a shocking state of affairs when we read daily about rogue cops, and corruption in the ranks of those who are supposed to protect the defenceless and enforce law and order. Fear of stigmatisation and secondary victimisation are also factors.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, commented on South Africa's low arrest and conviction rate of rapists. This is not only a shocking denial of justice for the thousands of victims, but also a factor that has contributed to the normalisation of rape and violence in South African society.
What we need is a national strategy to end gender violence and violence against children. This has been called for by a group of civil society organisations who've written to the President requesting the establishment of a special fund to fight gender-based violence which will provide R10 million over the next 10 years to fund a multisector response to prevent and reduce the effects of gender-based violence in all their forms.
Now, in this time of tightening our belts, one might say that we do not have enough money. But do you know that the Nkandla security upgrades could fund the rape crisis budget of R7 million for 29 years? By the time that the security upgrades and consultants' fees have been paid on the Nkandla development, it will have cost R206 million, which is a hundred times more than what has been provided for Thuthuzela care centres.
Recently on Carte Blanche, I watched a programme about violence and bullying in some of our schools. It was shocking to see the aggression and cruelty of learners, not only towards their peers, but towards their teachers. The question was asked: Should teachers get danger pay? What has happened to the safe and nurturing environment that schools used to provide, where education was the main tool of upliftment?
We cannot wait. South Africa needs a holistically and fully funded commission of inquiry to investigate why our gender-based violence laws and policies are not being properly implemented, and why the Chapter 9 institutions are failing us.
Like many others, I have a dream, a dream that South Africa will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice; that patriarchal attitudes and gender-based violence will be eliminated; and that women and our precious children will not be violated and abused. May each one of you help to make our dream for our nation and its children come true. We need to get on track, Deputy Minister of Transport. This is more important - gender-based violence and looking after our children, not talking about taxis in a debate about violence and children. Thank you. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Hon Deputy Speaker, hon Deputy President and hon members, let me thank hon members for participating in this debate and, in fact, thank all the parties who made valuable inputs in this important debate, and who understand that this is a challenge for all of us, not just government. But for the DA, of course, this was just another political football that they thought they could use to ensure that they scored a few cheap political points at the expense of the tragedy of the killing and raping of our children.
We all have to take responsibility and we must all ask ourselves this question: As individuals, families or political parties, what have we done in our communities today to make women and children safe? This will lead us all to a collective sense of responsibility towards the women and children in our families, neighbourhoods, communities and country broadly.
It is only through our ongoing collective efforts in every street and in our communities that we can begin to partner with civil society organisations, the police, Social Development, Justice and health practitioners for a holistic approach to prevention and intervention mechanisms to address the violence perpetrated against women and children.
The Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, within its co-ordination and facilitation mandate, has been working together with various departments, NGOs and community-based organisations, through the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, on a number of campaigns aimed at ensuring that we put all our resources together and strengthen the campaign to end gender-based violence.
In this regard, we have launched a campaign with the South African Football Association, trying to focus on the youth. This provides a platform to call upon soccer players and fans to join hands to eliminate gender-based violence, because the involvement of men, as many of the speakers have said, will specifically to ensure that we engage men in the call to end gender-based violence. This is critical if we are to significantly reduce or eliminate the high levels of violence against women and children. We launched this campaign at the Fifa soccer game between Bafana Bafana and Botswana at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 24 August this year.
We also joined the Brothers for Life campaign, which was organised by men to mobilise men to say: "Not in my name! Enough is enough!". This was held in Johannesburg and led by the Deputy President during Women's Month.
We are also working with Lead SA in an initiative to ensure that the media provide space to continuously write articles about gender-based violence to educate the public about this scourge. In addition, we are also working with community radio stations to ensure that they educate the public on gender-based violence and how it impacts negatively on the lives of women and children.
We also believe it is important to ensure collaboration with our religious leaders. In this regard we have worked with the National Religious Council, which comprises the Christian faith community, including the South African Council of Churches, and the Muslim, Hindu and the Jewish communities. They have joined hands with the department in the fight against gender-based violence. Religious leaders have committed themselves to highlighting, in their planned and daily activities, the plight of abused women and children. They are also planning to involve young people, families and society at large to understand and uphold the Bill of Responsibilities towards the prevention of gender-based violence within a rights-based approach. They have also committed themselves to and already started writing in the media and educating communities about gender-based violence.
Our Constitution recognises our diversity, particularly cultural diversity, and therefore it is essential, because of the important role played by then, particularly in our rural areas, to work with our traditional leaders in fighting this scourge. We have established a relationship with the National House of Traditional Leaders, including all heads of the various provinces and the leaders of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, Contralesa. They have committed themselves to joining the campaign and contributing to the elimination of gender-based violence. They have condemned the atrocious crimes committed against women and children, including elderly women.
The National House of Traditional Leaders has gender fora that are already part of the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence. They will use these platforms to educate and raise awareness in rural communities, particularly working with the wives of traditional leaders as influential members of their communities and as leaders. Ondlunkulu [chiefs' wives] will be leading this campaign in the fight against gender-based violence in our rural communities. Traditional leaders are also working with government structures such as the National Prosecuting Authority on a project called Ndabezitha, which is also focusing on fighting gender-based violence.
The President has led from the front. He has established an interministerial committee which comprises a number of Ministers, led by the Minister of Social Development, with the mandate to investigate the root causes of gender-based violence in our country.
The President has also committed himself to the UN campaign: "Unite to end violence against women", which is also called the Orange Day Campaign - an international campaign to end gender-based violence against women and children. This campaign is part of the South Africa 365 days National Action Plan to End Gender Violence, which takes place on the 25th of every month. We have already launched this campaign in various provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Western Cape, the Free State and Gauteng.
This month the campaign will be taking place in the North West province, where we will also be launching the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign. The launch of the campaign will be led by the President in the North West province on the 24th of this month and we invite all of you to be part of the campaign. We will close the campaign in Gazankulu in Limpopo on 10 December, and again we invite those members who are available to be part of this important campaign.
The multisectoral approach of government to prevent and intervene by working with communities is critical. Communities remain the frontline of prevention and intervention mechanisms that will assist to ensure that we end the scourge of gender-based violence. We call on all communities to work with us to ensure the safety and security of women and children. We continue to say there should be no bail for these heinous crimes - let's have the harshest sentences against those who perpetrate these crimes! Malibongwe! [Praise!] [Time expired.] [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Debate concluded.