Hon Chairperson, it is with little doubt that this debate came forth as a result of the recent murders widely covered by the media, partly because of the extent of brutality attached and the celebrity effect. For that reason, I'd like to start off by conveying, on behalf of the UCDP, our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of Anene Booysen and of Reeva Steenkamp: Your loss is ours.
The sad reality about the recently publicised murders is that this is not a case whereby, all of a sudden, there are cases of females being raped and that we are all shocked, dismayed and frantically looking for answers as this has never happened in our beautiful land. The sad reality is that this happens literally every day. Women across the country are raped and murdered daily, mostly by intimate partners, as well as complete strangers.
The media sometimes, and only sometimes, when they feel the story will scoop more sales, report on and sensationalise these cases, like as they did in Reeva Steenkamp's case. But when all that hype is gone, when they have moved on to another interesting story, someone's daughter, sister or grandchild would be left dead and recorded as a statistic. Humanity would have lost a flower, the earth would be grieving, families left to accept and deal with the reality of their loss, whilst the rest of the population carries on.
Considering our past, we are a nation with many differences, but also a nation that is capable of looking beyond those differences when it suits us and work together and passionately achieve outstanding results. Look how united we were for the Fifa World Cup. When shall we stand up and say we shall not have a woman murdered by a man again?
Why can't we work together and rid our society of this terrible scourge? Why can't we do it for our girl-children in all their innocence, do it for our mothers, do it for our future and the future of the generations to come? How long shall we beat around the bush, pretending that we do not know what has gone wrong when women are being killed every day by our own sons, brothers and uncles? What is it that has desensitised us so much to gender-based violence?
We all seem to be outraged by these recent cases. But how are we going to channel our rage to ensure that we pull this deadly plague off our country and our community? What does it take for us to act together? What will it take for men to recognise that their sisters, daughters, grand-daughters and mothers are the ones being violated every day, and that this needs to stop?
While we are all made to follow the details of Reeva's case, are we made to forget that decomposed body of 19-year-old Ge-Audrey Green, which was stuffed in a drawer under the bed in Scottsville? Are we thereby forgetting Charmaine Mare's torso, whose legs and arms had been cut off and her body burnt beyond recognition? How much outrage have we displayed over the pastor who allegedly raped a woman three times in a locked room? What have we said about the case of a man who raped and impregnated his 12-year-old stepdaughter? [Time expired.] [Applause.]