COVID-19 RESPONSE
In the context of the COVID-19 lock down in South Africa, the danger of gender-based violence for all women and children in abusive homes,
who are now confined to their homes has dramatically increased. As a society that has high levels of gender-based violence and femicide,
the safety risk for all women is high and already we have seen brutal and deeply saddening ways in which this has played out e.g. the rape
and murder of a 75-year old grandmother in KwaZulu Natal.
In recognition, that in ‘normal’ situations, survivors face a range of challenges in accessing the system e.g. fear of being believed, secondary victimization, fear of more violence from the perpetrator, inabilities to access the system, unresponsive, overwhelmed, language-blind and insensitive systems, it is envisaged that all of these factors could be even more exacerbated under the lock-down.
In recognition, that in ‘normal’ situations, survivors face a range of challenges in accessing the system e.g. fear of being believed, secondary victimization, fear of more violence from the perpetrator, inabilities to access the system, unresponsive, overwhelmed, language-blind and insensitive systems, it is envisaged that all of these factors could be even more exacerbated under the lock-down.
