By Mbuyiselo Botha
As we commemorate 16 Days of Activism of no Violence Against Women and Children in our country, I ask myself if we do at times give a thought to the migrant women who face violence, rape and all sorts of degrading treatment.
In the recent community dialogue that Sonke Gender Justice Network conducted, one woman who is a migrant had this to say about her experience from police.
"Did you enjoy sex with a decent, loving South African man and now you cry rape? We will not help you because you don't have papers and in any way it is people like you who come here, abuse our hospitality, take our husbands and deplete our resources.
"I think you deserve what happened to you. In fact they should have killed you so that you are silenced forever."
Amid such cold, inhuman and crass humiliation of women, our police are convinced they do not deserve their protection.
Migrant women in particular face such struggles daily as they try to make meaning of their lives.
I am reminded of the statement by August Vollmer who was police chief of Berkeley, California, who said: "The citizen expects police officers to have the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the strength of Samson, the patience of Job, the leadership of Moses, the kindness of the Good Samaritan, the strategical training of Alexander, the faith of Daniel, the diplomacy of Lincoln, the tolerance of the Carpenter of Nazareth and, finally, the intimate knowledge of every branch of natural, biological, and social sciences.
"If he had all these, he might be a good policeman."
The sentence above encapsulates the serious challenge for modern societies in defining the roles entrusted to the police and the high expectations on their outputs.
In their position as the first "port of call" for complainants, the police act as the gateway to the criminal justice system: as such, the fate of any reported complaint and its movement through the criminal justice system essentially lies in the hands of the police.
The police exercise significant discretionary power in the day-to-day processing of complaints and their value judgments often form the basis of their decisions to enforce the law or use alternative means of dispute resolution, on how to handle the victim, whether to arrest a suspect, whether to use force in an encounter, whether to devote resources to an investigation, and whether to lay a charge in any particular circumstance.
Police are responsible for crime prevention, policing and investigation of gender-based violence for everyone living in South Africa, including migrant women.
Gender activists have for many years reported the reluctance of police to open dockets for reported cases or the tendency to try to mediate what are perceived as "domestic squabbles".
Migrant women have also reported unsatisfactory treatment. A Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation research published in 2009 reported that: "Women migrants felt that they are not protected by the law for two main reasons: lack of knowledge on their part for not knowing which laws can protect them and what their rights are … Women migrants felt that they could not report violence against themselves by South African citizens, as well as nationals from their country of origin, because of a lack of access to the police. Not only police threaten migrant women reporting a crime with deportation but they also regularly refer migrants back to their communities for a resolution to an internal problem.
Domestic violence is also prevalent among police officers.
The Independent Complaints Directorate conducted a three-year study and released the results in July. The study revealed that 49 women romantically involved with police officers were killed by them between 2005 and 2007.
The report did not include the murders of 99 other police wives and girlfriends in 2008 and 2009.
The directorate blamed the killings on stress, poor management support, financial problems, bad working conditions, uncertain futures and easy access to guns.
Every year, during the 16 Days of Activism, police are expected to raise awareness on legislation pertaining to violence against women and children.
But spaces for reflection around the challenges they face in this field in the context of their family life, as well as in the interaction with their colleagues and communities, are not usually provided.
This may have a negative impact on the quality of services provided to survivors of violence.
In keeping with the international theme of the 16 Days of Activism for 2010 – "Structures of Violence: Defining the Intersections of Militarism and Violence against Women" – Sonke focused on policing of violence against women and children, with a particular focus on migrant populations.
A number of community dialogues have been held with migrant women and men, at which they have raised their concerns around the way legislation to prevent gender-based violence is implemented.
Sonke also wants to support a space where police officers can openly talk about their concerns and needs regarding policing of gender-based violence, particularly their own personal needs and the support they should be getting.
Last Friday Gauteng police made a commitment to work with the migrant communities, Sonke and South African communities to ensure we rid SA of this pandemic.
- Botha is Government and Media Relations Manager at Sonke Gender Justice Network
In Sowetan.
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
