QwaQwa - President Jacob Zuma has laid down the law on abusers, calling them "cowards".
"The time has come to say that we no longer want to stay with men who are cowards because they use their strength to rape... and abuse. It is a clear sign of cowardice. Cowards will never enter heaven," Zuma said on Thursday.
He encouraged the thousands gathered at the University of the Free State to change their lives and be respectable.
The country's justice system, he said, needed to be strengthened to focus on the needs of survivors of abuse.
He said investigating officers needed to engage victims when offenders request bail applications as this has a serious impact on the victims.
The President's comments were echoed by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. "I'd like to appeal to men... real men don't abuse women and children," she said.
"What is a home without a woman and what is a nation without women?"
Motshekga said violence against women and children was unacceptable, a sentiment shared by Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya.
"We must also send the message that the abuse of children will not be tolerated," said Mayende-Sibiya
