Break the bystander effect
Don’t keep quiet: there are many ways to act against sexual misconduct that you witness, writes BANATHI MGQOBOKA
The act of bystanding during occurrences of sexual misconduct towards women and girls is a deeply problematic social issue. Acts of sexual misconduct which imply harassment, violence, assault or abuse are at a growing in South Africa. Between January and March of 2021, 12 133 sexual offence cases were reported as reflected in the fourth quarter 2020/2021 South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Statistics. Within this tracking, the Eastern Cape alone recorded 2 024 cases. These sexual offence cases are explained by the SAPS to include rape, sexual assault, attempted sexual offences and contact sexual offences. Such sexual doings are not consented to and they frequently make a victim feel uncomfortable, afraid and vulnerable.