Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Mr Senzo Mchunu, said Public Servants are fully supportive of the work government is doing in making interventions in fighting the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV).
Speaking at the GBV march by Public Servants on Friday 27/09/2019 that started from Church Square to the Union Building, the Minister said public servants are fully supportive of the work done by the police, the Thuthuzela Care Centers, the 11 Sexual Offenders Courts and the sufficient budget that has been made available for the work to support GBV victims.
Public Servants also support the review of the legislation in relation to GBV, addressing the case backlog, addressing delays in DNA testing and in-availability of rape test kits in police stations.
The Minister said, “with the march, Public Servants express care and support to victims of abuse and their families.
“We would like to sound a call to members of the community that the fight against GBV is a societal responsibility. Let us look after each other and be concerned about what is happening in our neighborhoods.
“We must work with the police, prosecutors, and courts to ensure that those who hurt and abuse others are arrested and convicted. We also need victims to come forward and testify in such cases so that the GBV problem could be stamped out completely,” he said.
The Minister said the government provides support to victims through institutions such as Thuthuzela Care Centres and Department of Social Development to prepare victims for cases to ensure successful prosecutions.
“As we conclude Public Service Month, as the 1, 1 million-strong public servants, we are saying let us all be champions of ending violence against women and children”.
He said the pledge that was made on Friday, will be sent to public servants through SMS and Email that they should sign and mount in their offices.
“You can also share the pledges with other colleagues in the service elsewhere in the country to do the same,” Minister said.
