FS PREMIER EMPHASISE SOARING GBVF CASES IN THE PROVINCE

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Prayer and Dialogue at Zastron

By: Staff Reporter

Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae, a staunch anti-GBVF activist emphasised the soaring number of GBVF cases reported in the province.

The remarks were made during the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Prayer and Dialogue held on Sunday 10, in Zastron, at Mooifontein Primary School Hall.

The Premier recounted the harrowing story of a 60-year-old woman from Bothaville who was ambushed by a heartless criminal, struck multiple times on the head with a hammer, and then raped.

She also described a sickening case in which a baby girl was allegedly raped by her own father.

“Gender-Based Violence and Femicide is a societal problem. President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa correctly labelled this scourge a ‘second pandemic.’ These are incredibly large numbers and point to a rapidly worsening situation characterised by violence and lawlessness. However, I am hopeful that we will ultimately get to the bottom of this problem”. said Premier Letsoha-Mathae.

She reiterated that to fight against this, the community as a whole need to participate.

"It will not help us to pull in different directions when we should be confronting the enemy as a collective. That means women as those most affected by this problem must stand together in unison to defeat this enemy", she concluded.