Civil rights organization Action Society has said it is tired of hearing about elderly South Africans who have been attacked, raped and abused.
The organization’s volunteers assist victims of crime in seeking justice in court.
Action Society is currently helping a 71-year-old woman from Strand, in the Western Cape, who was allegedly attacked and raped by her 27-year-old grandson, on 13 August.
Grandmother allegedly raped before
According to reports, this was not an isolated incident and the accused attacked her previously.
On 21 August, the Action Society team was at the Strand Magistrates Court where the suspect appeared on charges of assault and rape.
The grandson abandoned bail and the case was postponed for further investigation.
“This growing trend of abuse toward the elderly should concern all South Africans,” said Action Society’s Kaylynn Palm.
“They are the most vulnerable people in our society and any kind of violence toward them should never be tolerated under any circumstances.”
She said according to the Western Cape Department of Social Development, 15 cases of elder abuse had been reported in the first quarter of 2024/2025.
Palm said the 15 reported cases cannot be the only incidents, and Action Society has reason to believe that these cases are being under-reported.
“We believe there are other senior citizens who are being abused but remain silent because of fear.
“We are calling on community members to be the eyes and ears and report these incidents.”
Elderly abuse a nationwide problem
In July, an elderly woman was assaulted by her grandson in Kraaifontein.
A video of the incident went viral and sparked outrage on social media. The teenager was arrested and was let out on bail; Action Society is overseeing this case.
In the same month, Action Society was informed about another case in Langa where an 85-year-old woman was attacked.
According to the grandmother, her intoxicated 25-year-old grandson ransacked her house, breaking her washing machine and fridge before he began physically attacking her.
Drunk and enraged, he jumped on her bed, kicked her in the torso, and eventually threatened to kill her with a knife, which, fortunately for her, was not accessible to him at the time, the organization claimed.
Action Society was mandated to take on the case and the attacker was granted bail of R500 in the Bishop Lavis Court.
“We cannot allow this trend to continue and we will make use of all our resources to help the [Strand] victim,” Palm added.
She said, however, it was good to see representatives from the community policing forum at the court to support the elderly woman.
“These cases are becoming more frequent, and it is unacceptable. We cannot allow this level of violence to become the norm in our society.”
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