Pretoria - Cabinet has condemned the gang rape of a 17-year-old Soweto girl and it wants law enforcement authorities to ensure that the full course of the law is implemented.
Responding to news of the incident, which was captured on video by one of the alleged perpetrators, Cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said gender-based violence was not only a government issue, but a societal issue which needed every South African to work hard to combat.
"It starts at home. Each individual must take personal responsibility to make sure that there is no violence of any form. NGOs and all community based organisations must also play a critical role in making sure that people are sensitized ... so that we have a normal society," Manyi said at a post Cabinet briefing on Thursday.
He said while the Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities had various programmes to address gender-based violence, the department alone could not win the battle if society as a whole did not play its part.
Cabinet congratulated the South African Police Service for the swift action in apprehending the alleged perpetrators.
Seven males between the ages of 14 and 20 were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the rape.
Police said the girl was reported missing by her mother three weeks ago and was reportedly found on Wednesday at a man's house in Braamfischerville, Johannesburg.
The man found with the teen was the eighth person arrested in connection with the crime.
The case against the seven men was postponed on Thursday in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court for further investigation.
