QAMATA - The women and children of the Eastern Cape are under siege and in desperate need of protection.
This is the view of an activist who says some of the attacks on women are fuelled by drugs, which are increasingly reaching rural areas.
Furthermore, poverty is forcing some single-parent households to fail and even abuse children.
It is believed that nearly 80 percent of households in the province are poor.
Andiswa Matume says life has become unbearable since the death of her father, Melane Matume.
She says she'd rather die than continue seeing her family suffering.
Activist Petros Majola says Matuma's situation is similar to that of desperate mothers who kill their own children and then commit suicide.
- eNCA's Ronald Masinda reports.