JOHANNESBURG, October 8 (ANA) – The struggle against violence, and particularly gender-based violence, needs to be deepened in all spheres of societal activity, South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande said on Sunday.
Speaking in Johannesburg at the launch of the SACP’s annual Red October campaign, he said if left unchecked violence in communities, the economy, and society at large would plunge the nation into deeper crisis.
The problem included contact crimes, killings/murder and attempted murder, assault, robbery, and sexual violations, among others, he said.
Subtle forms of violence included emotional and verbal violence, and all members of society, regardless of sex and age, were exposed to the problem of violence. In politics, KwaZulu-Natal was the centre of criminal killings used to further political ends, the so-called political killings. The SACP had suffered major losses in this regard as the first, major target, Nzimande said
“Very recently, Statistics South Africa released a report showing that sex crimes have increased. We must bring this problem to an end and create a society in which everybody regardless of sex, sexual orientation, and age is safe.”
This year’s Red October campaign would focus on building and strengthening social mobilisation to eliminate gender-based violence in particular and violence in general.
“Violence against women, children, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and/or intersex (LGBTI) community must be brought to an end. The extent of domestic violence, abuse of women, sexual harassment, including rape and other sexual assaults, and femicide require a focused campaign to uproot this scourge and re-instate the safety of women and LGBTs in our society. We must, in this regard, pay equal attention to ensuring the safety of children, both females and males, as well as people with albinism,” Nzimande said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
