Letlhakane rape cases up by 41%
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday January 24, 2023 06:00
The statistics do not come as a surprise as the area has been a hub for social ills such as murder, defilement and rape for the past decade or so .The nerve-wracking trend has become a norm despite several interventions by the police and stakeholders to nip rape incidents in the bud. Revealing the latest rape statistics, Letlhakane police station commander, Michael Maphephu said they have recorded a difference of 14 rape cases between last quarters of 2022 and 2021. He revealed that in the last quarter of 2022, from September until December, they registered 48 rape cases as compared to 34 which were recorded during the same quarter in 2021.
Furthermore, he said in September 2022 they registered 12 cases of rape as compared to five recorded in 2021 for the same quarter. Maphephu added that last November, they registered 15 cases against eight reported in 2021 for the same month which show an increase of seven cases. The station head reasoned that the statistics recorded in 2021 did not come as a surprise as there was a restriction on movement by the government to control the spread of COVID-19. “In 2021 a lot of people were mostly grounded to their homes hence there was less crime taking place in the policing area,” he added. He however applauded the community for reporting crime more especially gender based- violence (GBV) cases. He encouraged residents to continue reporting sexual offences such as rape and not be intimidated by the perpetrators nor have fear of being part of the statistics. Maphephu said they have now intensified public education on GBV so that people understand their rights and responsibilities more especially when handling issues of this form of crime. “For years people in their policing area did not care about the rule of law more especially GBV related issues. The GBV cases were under-reported and mostly the culprits were usually protected as everything was just normal to them as per their beliefs,” he added.
He further said in their traditions and believes it was not wrong for an elderly to neither impregnate a 15-year-old girl nor sexually molest any minor. Most of the GBV culprits remained unpunished as the victims or even family of the victims did not report such cases. Maphephu highlighted that most of the people in their policing area are uneducated as some are school dropouts or have never been to school at all. “Some drop out as early at Standard 5, 7 and Form 1, 2 and 3. After dropping out of school at a tender age, they start working at nearby cattle posts. These are the same people who end up terrorising women and children more especially after abusing drugs and alcohol,” he said. Meanwhile, Maphephu said they have started community outreach after realising that they have been targeting the wrong people for GBV workshops leaving behind those who need to hear the message at the cattle posts. He shared that they have started having gender focal points which he believed would yield better results soon.