Cele tells police not to send victims of GBV away

JOHANNESBURG - Police Minister Bheki Cele has warned officers against turning away victims of gender-based violence when they come into police stations to report cases of abuse.

Cele says the men and women in blue have a responsibility to protect victims of crime, especially women and children.

READ: GBV epidemic | Working to end the scourge

He addressed a men's dialogue on gender-based violence in Khayelitsha.

He said, "I've said this thing time and again when a woman comes into the police station to report that she's been abused. That is her last hope."

"Don't send her anywhere else, please don't. That is her last hope that she has come to the station."

"Don't tell her to go and negotiate (with her abuser), please don't! Help that woman, that is her last hope."