By: Nqobile Tembe

The African National Congress Women’s League and Youth League held an anti-rape campaign on Sunday at Broadway in Durban North to express their concerns about sexually abused women in South Africa.

This came after the release of the South African Rape Statistics towards the end of August, which stated that over 45 000 cases of rape were reported in August.

The ANC members in this area said that they are deeply concerned at such a high number of rape cases reported in August alone- a month where women are supposed to be celebrated.

On behalf of the campaigners, Phezile Jali said, “We would like to urge the municipality to help us fight this awful act that has consumed our country and made it unsafe to live in.”

A memorandum was handed over to Bheki Mngwengwe who was there as the mayor’s representative for the eThekwini’s municipality.

Mngwengwe assured the people that as the municipality they will do everything in their power to help curb this hateful phenomenon.

“We are aware of the issues faced by women in our city and our country as a whole and as the municipality we are going to commit ourselves to making sure that our people, especially women, are taken care of,” said Mngwengwe.

One of the requirements stated in the memorandum was the establishment and maintenance of a rape victim’s centre at every South African Police Station in the city.

“We want to make sure that every victim is in a safe environment and that their cases are dealt with in a caring and respectable manner,” said Jali.

The members of the ANC said they want this campaign to form part of the city’s plan to make the municipality the most caring and livable city in Africa by 2030.