Gender commission shocked at Luthuli House assault
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says it is shocked at the assault of a woman‚ who was attacked by an ANC branch secretary during a protest outside Luthuli House.
“The Commission is also shocked that nobody came to the assistance of a powerless and helpless woman who was being assaulted even whilst lying on the ground‚” the rights body said in a statement released late on Monday.
“The CGE is equally worried that there was lack of police action to either stop the beating or apprehend the perpetrator of this heinous crime.”
Clashes erupted outside the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg on Monday when a van carrying a group of people in Black First Land First (BLF) regalia were attacked as the vehicle approached the main entrance of the building.
TimesLIVE video footage showed Thabiso Setona‚ a branch secretary in the Johannesburg region‚ attacking a woman who was already on the ground. The ANC Joburg region immediately suspended Setona and handed him to the police at the Johannesburg Central police station.
The gender commission said the assault was a troubling sign of South African society.
“The beating clearly shows we are a society that has normalized violence against the most vulnerable people of our society‚ in this case a defenseless woman. In the year 2016 alone‚ a staggering 182‚933 cases of assault were reported.”