I
still have a few days of orientation left to cover to be up to date with that
but I really would like to discuss my internship in this blog post as it has
been an exciting past couple of weeks at Treatment Action Campaign! TAC, as it
is commonly known, is an organization expert in community mobilization around
issues that directly impact the Khayelitsha community and the greater South
African community. At the moment they are at the beginning of a precedent
setting police commission on police ineffectiveness and public safety in
Khayelitsha (Commission of Inquiry). Organizing this commission has been years in the making and two
appeals by the South African Police Services threatened to not have it come to
fruition but though commitment to the safety of the community NGOs operating in
surrounding areas came together to turn this into a reality. These NGOs of
which TAC is one now have the opportunity to essentially put the police on
trial for their lack of response and poor relationship with the community. This
is a huge victory not only for the 1 million residents of the greater
Khayelitsha area but for South Africa as a whole because now if a community has
a grievance they have a method by which to approach the offending parties and
get their voices heard. The objective of the commission is not to blame
specific police officers but to campaign for systematic change that will ensure
safety of the community.
We
have heard incredible testimony from people from all different sectors who have
experienced firsthand what police ineffectiveness can cause. The most powerful
testimony we heard so far was on the first day we attended the commission where
the medical center director of Simelela, a comprehensive rape center in
Khayelitsha hospital, spoke to the horrific things that she encounters on a day
to day basis when police do not carry out their duties correctly. She recalled
several heart wrenching experiences. She recalled survivors are often
re-victimized when they see their perpetrator roaming the streets when they
have not been informed of the status of their case; these women have no idea
that the perpetrator has been released and are not only forced to confront this
danger once more but have no relevant information as to why the release
occurred. Another instance told to the commission was a specific instance where
fourteen rape kits were found tossed on the side of the road rendering the
evidence unusable and denying justice to the women who were involved.
The
most disturbing incident recalled was concerning the case of a serial rapist of
young girls. The doctor testifying recalled that she had noticed a pattern with
a series of violent rapes of young girls. Upon reporting this to the police she
was told that there was no pattern and her allegations were not taken
seriously. It was not until twenty one girls under the age of nine were raped
and after one death as a result that the perpetrator responsible was
apprehended and taken off the street. She said that if these were little white
girls whom this was happening to, this would never have happened and these
allegations would have been taken seriously. This was our first insight to the
frightening world of ineffective policing and what happens when the
relationship between the community and the police disintegrates.
We
have now heard testimony from numerous witnesses testifying to lack of police
effectiveness regarding incomplete investigations, delays and absenteeism
leading to questioning of the cause of death of deceased persons, ambulance and
police relations that can result in late responses to critical patients, and
NGOs who are trying to help fix this system and the challenges that they have
faced. In my next post I would like to further discuss individual testimonies
and speak about weekend adventures we have embarked on so far.
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