Crime Stats: Child bloodshed & sexual violence will likely show increase – Action Society
Referring to a most recent shocking incident, “Why would anyone burn and behead a 13-year-old child like we have just seen in KwaZulu-Natal? There are many more examples of escalating violence against children. Action Society believes that the most recent crime statistics that will be released tomorrow, will show that violence against women and children is still on the rise in South Africa as the criminal justice system has been mostly compromised,” said Ian Cameron, Action Society’s Community Safety Director.
Cameron explained that an increase could be expected as conviction rates for rape and other violent crime is at an all-time low, with only 8,6% of all cases finalised with a guilty verdict for a sexual offence in South Africa. Apart from the mentioned data by the South African Medical Research Council, Cameron added that in just 3 years, more than 100 000 convicted murderers and rapists were released without having submitted DNA samples, thus making it very challenging to link repeat offenders to new crimes.
National Child Protection Week is commemorated in South Africa this week to raise awareness of the rights of children. The campaign is led by the Department of Social Development in partnership with key government departments and civil-society organisations rendering child-protection services.
Cameron concluded that, “Action Society supports Child Protection Week. It is critical to get the message out that as long as people like Bheki Cele and other political appointments continue to reign supreme in law-enforcement circles, levels of violent crime in South Africa will certainly not decrease and the most vulnerable in our society will never be guaranteed a safe environment.”
