MAIN CONCERN AND MOTIVATION

Our primary concern is the growing fear and vulnerability experienced by women and children who should be able to live freely, safely and without fear of becoming victims of violent crime.

Women are raped, sexually assaulted and murdered despite being innocent individuals who have a fundamental right to live their lives without fear of violence. For many women, ordinary activities such as walking home, travelling alone, going to work, attending social events or simply being in their own communities can be accompanied by the fear that they may become the next victim.

This fear has consequences beyond the individual victim. When a woman is murdered, sexually assaulted or permanently traumatised by violence, her family is also affected. Children may unexpectedly lose a mother, daughter, sister or caregiver. Families are left to deal with grief, trauma, financial hardship and the lifelong consequences of losing someone they love.

We are deeply concerned that victims and their families can be left feeling that justice has not been adequately served. There is particular concern regarding accused persons who may receive bail, evade arrest, remain at large or, in some circumstances, return to their communities while victims and their families continue to live with the consequences of the crime.

We recognise that every accused person is entitled to due process, a fair trial and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. However, we also believe that the rights and dignity of victims and their families must remain at the centre of South Africa’s criminal justice system.

The Constitution recognises the right of everyone to freedom and security of the person, including the right to be free from all forms of violence from public or private sources. It also protects human dignity and the right to life. We therefore believe that the State has a profound responsibility to protect its people from serious and violent crime.

Our concern is not motivated by a desire for revenge. It is motivated by a desire for justice, accountability, public safety and the protection of innocent lives.

We therefore call upon Parliament to seriously reconsider South Africa’s current legal position regarding capital punishment, particularly in relation to the most serious and violent offences, and to examine whether the existing constitutional and legislative framework adequately protects victims, their families and society as a whole.

We further call for a transparent national discussion involving victims’ families, legal professionals, constitutional scholars, civil society, communities and the South African public regarding whether capital punishment should be reconsidered, and if so, what constitutional safeguards, procedural protections and evidentiary standards would be necessary to prevent miscarriages of justice.

Our message is simple:

Women and children should not have to live in fear. Families should not have to bury loved ones because of preventable violence. Victims deserve justice, dignity and protection.

We therefore respectfully ask Parliament to hear the concerns of the South African people and to consider meaningful legal and constitutional measures aimed at protecting innocent lives and strengthening accountability for the most serious violent crimes.