MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The ACDP councillor in Mossel Bay commented on the signing of a pledge against women and child abuse by saying that while it was an admirable act, it was a sad reflection of the state of affairs in society.
Councillor Jeanette Gouws said current methods to curb violence seemed to be ineffective. Contributing and underlying factors needed to be identified and addressed, and the legalised exploitation and abuse of women through the pornography and prostitution industry must be stopped.
"Sadly, despite the many years of signing of pledges, awareness campaigns and safety drives, the statistics show us that women and children continue to be victims of violence. Surely by now we must recognise that the problem lies far deeper than simple awareness and questions must be asked as to the contributing and underlying factors," Gouws said.
"Of the crimes committed against women, such as domestic abuse and assault, surely the most horrific and common must be rape.
"Although the definition of rape according to South African law is very broad and the stats for rape include the rape of men, people are raped at a rate of 73 adults and 43 children per day according to the figures released by the police for 2015/16.
"These crimes are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to abuse, not only of women, but also men in South Africa and the world.
"The legalised pornography industry which rakes in billions of rands each year stands as a stark condemnation of the legalised exploitation of South Africans, with some studies linking pornography to rape statistics.
"The drive by SWEAT and liberal political parties to legalise prostitution is a further indictment of South Africans' complacency and apathy about people trapped by and through circumstances in an industry which is exploitative and abusive.
"The ACDP is a proponent of swift and harsh punishment for rapists. The ACDP will criminalise the production, distribution and sale of pornography and the ACDP will provide exit strategies, training for work and the dignity of earning an income for those caught in the explotative and abusive prostitution industry, unlike other political parties who propose that the industry be legalised so that tax can be levied on the victims' income," Gouws concluded.
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