Johannesburg -- The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has expressed concern about the escalating high level of gruesome, atrocious attacks on women.
The recent incident of alleged gang raping of eight women in Krugersdorp is a course for serious concern, the Commission said. The young women aged between 19 and 37 were allegedly raped, some by a group of men who are alleged to be involved in illegal mining.
SAHRC said this violent and atrocious attack on the eight women will leave scars that will affect them for the rest of their lives.
The Commission said the fact that there was a crackdown against perpetrators of the rape of the eight women, with approximately 69 people arrested, was a welcome development.
“However, what is striking is that locals have complained for years about their safety and the crime associated with these illegal mining operations in their midst. It raises a class issue --that there is an appropriate response only when it appears that victims enjoy some social status by way of the fact that they are models shooting a music video -- but there is a less appropriate response when locals complain or are victims of crime,” the SAHRC said.
The Commission said it will engage the government to gauge how far it has gone to implement various recommendations it made on mining challenges in the Issues and Challenges in relation to the Unregulated Artisanal Underground and Surface Mining Activities in South Africa report, released in 2015.
The SAHRC further called for positive prosecutions of perpetrators of this gruesome act.
The Star