Chairperson, it is that time of the year again, when we all focus on eradicating the scourge of violence against women and children, which unquestionably destroys communities, as it undermines the very people who nurture our children and influence the way they see the world. For me the real issue, in fact the only issue, is what has been achieved for women to date, and what happens to our commitment during the other 349 days of the year. The answer in South Africa, unfortunately, is very little.
Our Constitution provides that all people are equal before the law. But what does this mean for South African women and children in reality? The Domestic Violence Act has been in operation since 15 December 1999; nearly 10 years. Yet, every year there are still cases reported by the ICD of numerous police stations that are noncompliant with the terms of the legislation.
When they get caught out, they apply for exemption, which is often granted. Why there is even a provision for exemption is beyond me. Why bother enacting provisions to protect women and then allow the police to refuse to comply with them? It is quite clear that the SA Police Service is not committed to implementing this Act, and accordingly is not concerned about violence against women. There are still women who are turned away, with police refusing to open dockets or serve protection orders.
When the very people who are supposed to maintain law and order, and protect those who cannot protect themselves, refuse to do so, what hope do we have? When women are able to summon the courage to leave an abusive situation, there are hardly any shelters where they can go with their children. Most shelters will only accommodate the women. This must change if we are to end this destructive cycle.
Women and girls are continually targeted for sexual abuse in particular. How has South Africa addressed this issue? We closed down the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences, FCS units, or in some places, kept them technically in existence, with sufficient resources to make them absolutely meaningless. The results are that we still have 6 women and 2 children a day, being murdered, 74 women and 419 children a day being assaulted, and 82 women and 55 children a day being sexually assaulted. And those are only the reported cases.
Another crime that has been rearing its ugly head more and more often is human trafficking, which mostly involves women. Serious concerns have been raised, in particular for the 2010 World Cup. One would have expected government and the SAPS to have a very comprehensive plan in place by now to deal with that. Let us look at the facts. Last year, the police managed to report a grand total of 29 cases of sexual trafficking. Of these, 19 ended up in court and 5 resulted in convictions. This amidst reports of 1 000 Mozambicans alone crossing our borders every year for the purpose of sexual trafficking.
A deputy provincial commissioner in the Western Cape, and a woman at that, has recently been reported as saying, "All we have to deal with human trafficking is the Sexual Offences Amendment Act". This Act contains an entire section on sexual trafficking, which gives ample guidelines on how to take action. It also seems that she has never heard of the Constitution, which prohibits slavery, the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, and the Criminal Procedure Act. Perhaps it is no wonder that they have achieved this astonishing number of arrests, if the senior provincial leadership does not even know what legislation is available.
Notwithstanding why the police and the SA National Defence Force are still arguing about who should or shouldn't control the borders, whilst traffickers continue unabated, why is the promised human trafficking legislation still not before this House? This has led to our country, in 2008, being placed on a special watch list by the US state department, for the fourth consecutive year, as a result of the inability to exhibit efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The answer can only be that South Africa is not serious about human trafficking.
The Internet and cellphone industries are routinely abused by well- resourced paedophile groups with little fear of being caught. We need to do more to empower the police to bring them to book. But again, legislation is not the panacea for all these ills, unless we have the will and capacity to implement it.
We have a Maintenance Act. How many women are struggling every day because their partners have refused to pay them the amount due on time or at all? The court system is so overloaded and dysfunctional that they can go for months without relief, and the men just laugh literally all the way to the bank. Equal before the law? I think not.
A prime example of how this type of violence destroys communities is an example that has unfortunately recently been brought to my attention. A five-year-old girl had been abused by both her mother's boyfriend and her half-sister's boyfriend. When she reported this to her mother, her mother threatened her if she told anybody about it. What kind of a view of life is this little girl going to have? Unless we all generally accept that gender- based violence is wrong and commit to eradicating it, we will never make progress. We all have a responsibility to make this work. Nothing less than sustained action for 365 days a year will do. I thank you. [Applause.]