Women in blue from the Khayelitsha policing sub-district held a roadblock on the N2 in Strand to conclude National Women’s Month and raise awareness about gender-based violence.

The roadblock was held on Tuesday 25 August by the sub-district’s Women’s Network just after the intersection of Broadlands and Mondeor roads and the N2. Women officers from all nine stations in the sub-district handed out pamphlets on domestic abuse.

“We want to show that the stations in the sub-district have an open door policy when it comes to victims of GBV,” said Sergeant Tembakazi Moiqekeni, chairperson of the Women’s Network.

She added that this demonstrated the officers’ commitment to tackling the issues that affect women, with help from City of Cape Town’s Metro Police who assisted with the stops and searches.

The operation was led by Colonel Jacolize Fleischmann, station commander of Somerset West Police Station, and was seen as a major success.

Vehicles were brought to a halt to bring visibility to a major societal issue and to allow women officers to stand in solidarity with women affected by GBV.

The officers demonstrated the same spirit as the women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956: “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo.”