The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has made a plea for the development of viable programmes to stop violence against women and children.

IFP national chairperson and KwaZulu-Natal Legislature leader Blessed Gwala said marches, meaningless slogans and fancy banners were futile in stopping this violence, which was affecting communities.
 
“Our government has held far too many marches and launched numerous programmes in its attempt to stop violence against women and children. Proof that all of these attempts have been futile is evident in the rising number of cases of abuse of women and children, which are being reported daily. But our government still insists on hosting marches,” he stated.
 
While marches might serve to create awareness, they did not address the root cause of violence and did not prevent further acts of violence against women and children.

“We must all agree that the time for complacency has long gone, and belongs to another era. Now is the time for stronger action and creative ideas aimed at prevention,” Gwala declared.
 
He added that the IFP was calling on “all good men” to be role models for their sons and for all men to speak out when they witnessed domestic violence.

“Women and children cannot continue to live constantly under siege and exist in communities where they are not all enjoying the fruits of our constitutional democracy. We are calling on our citizens to stand up and speak out against the violence within their communities. Men need to be at the forefront of campaigns within communities to send the message that violence against women and children is unacceptable wherever they live”.
 
Gwala added that investigating domestic violence without a strategy to bring down the number of cases ultimately took resources away from crime prevention.

He called for legislation around domestic violence and the abuse of women and children to be revisited so that the criminal justice system could send a strong message to perpetrators of such crimes.

While the justice system must be empowered to mete out harsh punishment, all social structures must also be mobilised and provided with resources to work within communities and with families to prevent violence from occurring. 

Gwala added that a necessary political will to treat this scourge was a priority.