By Buziwe Nocuze
The City of Cape Town reports a rising number of physical assault cases, with 175 reported in June.
JP Smith, the city’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the city’s Public Emergency Communication Centre received the highest ever number of physical assault calls last weekend.
“This has become a worrying trend, especially during month-end weekends,” said Smith. “Most of these cases involve some sort of weapon, which increases the level of violence and the possibility that someone will be badly injured.”
He appealed to communities and neighbourhood watches to help police officers by reporting assault and domestic violence incidents.
The Western Cape government’s social development department says excessive alcohol consumption is a significant contributing factor to the high level of domestic violence incidents.
“Recent research showed that 67% of domestic violence in the Cape Metropole was alcohol-related. In a study of women abused by their spouses, 69% identified alcohol/drug abuse as the main cause of conflict leading to incidents of physical abuse,” it says in a booklet on dealing with alcohol abuse.
Dumisani Qwebe, secretary of the Nyanga Community Policing Forum, agreed with Smith.
“In most cases, it involves people who know each other, such as married or dating partners. Some incidents occur at taverns where people buy alcohol for others and promise to go home with them. When the promise isn’t fulfilled, the assault happens,” Qwebe said.
Sibongile Nkanti from Khayelitsha said: “Smith is right when he says the number could be higher, as victims often don’t report assault cases. Some decide not to go to the police station because SAPS might not respond promptly, so they keep quiet and continue being assaulted.”
Pictured above: Assault illustration image.
Source: Stock
