10 hours ago
Gas Motor Show investigates viral altercation involving gender-based violence
The image shows a man, on the right, assaulting a woman at the event on Saturday.
Image: Video screengrab
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched by the organisers of the Gas Motor Show after a viral video captured an altercation involving three women and a man, which raised serious concerns about safety and gender-based violence at the event.
The footage shows two women hitting each other. One of them falls to the ground. A third woman then helps the woman get back up.
The woman who had fallen, then attacks a man in the crowd and the woman who had helped her, then hits her. The man then punched the woman and she fell to the ground.
The show's head of safety and security, Percy Govender, said preliminary investigations revealed that the group were under the influence of alcohol and the altercation stemmed from jealousy.
The woman falls to the floor.
Image: Video screengrab
'These types of videos are edited and show what people want to show. The woman in the video had seen her ex-boyfriend with another woman at the show. She hit the man and cussed at him. He walked away but then he came back and punched her during the altercation.
'They should take responsibility for their behaviour. If she saw her boyfriend or former boyfriend with another person, and she got angry, there is a place and time to sort it out. She hit him in front of all his friends or people at the event. That exacerbated the anger in him.
'No matter the situation, it is not right to raise your hand for a woman. Crimes against women and children are taken seriously. But are we suggesting that it is acceptable for a female to assault and embarrass a male. They were not underage, they were adults.
'There were over 100 police officers at the event. We were told that intoxicated people had gone to the police station to open cases, but they were told to return when they were sober, as police cannot open cases where the complainants are intoxicated. It is unclear if they had returned to open cases,' Govender added.
He said the event was controlled by private security, as well as 90 SAPS officers and 30 metro police officers.
'Safety and security is our primary concern, and the event was well controlled and policed. There was no compromise in the deployment of safety and security personnel. With crowd dynamics, it is totally impossible to have police everywhere when people are dancing.
'Nobody came to the event's operational centre to report they were assaulted. It is shocking that people will video gender-based violence incidents and not intervene or do something about it. Over the weekend, about 20 000 people flocked to the event, and this was the first case of this nature that we have dealt with,' Govender added.
Yash Ori, marketing manager for the show, said they were conducting this investigation with the thoroughness and seriousness it deserved.
'Once our findings are complete, we will share the full details of what occurred and the steps we are taking to prevent similar incidents. An internal investigation is currently underway to determine exactly what transpired, and we are committed to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.
'We take a zero-tolerance stance on all forms of violence, particularly gender-based violence. The safety and wellbeing of our patrons remains our highest priority,' she added.
Ori said due to them taking all safety matters into consideration, they had escalated this year's event to a medium-risk classification, which enabled a substantial metro police and SAPS presence throughout the venue.
'We had strict security measures and are deeply saddened and troubled by the incident. We will provide regular updates on the progress of both our internal investigation and any related legal proceedings. We believe in complete transparency because we have nothing to hide, and our primary concern is ensuring our patrons and guests have a safe, enjoyable experience.
'Our event had sold out for three consecutive years and has become one of South Africa's premier entertainment experiences. While we are proud of this achievement, we will never compromise on safety or allow success to overshadow our responsibility to our community,' she said.
THE POST
