By Lebone Rodah Mosima
The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday told South Africans to commit to a year-round effort to end Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), saying change would only come through collective action beyond government.
The department said GBVF remained a national crisis requiring urgent, coordinated intervention across society, even as the state continued to strengthen laws, expand support services and accelerate implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF.
“The fight against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide must extend far beyond the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign,” the department said, calling for a “365-day, year-round commitment to prevent violence, protect vulnerable groups, and build a society grounded in equality, dignity and safety”.
Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said the burden could not rest on the state alone. “Every day is a day to end GBVF. Let us work together to build the South Africa we all deserve, safe, inclusive and free from violence,” she said in a statement.
The department outlined the roles it expected different parts of society to play. This included communities creating safe environments and supporting survivors. Workplaces should also ensure policies and reporting mechanisms were effective, it said. Families must teach respect, equality and non-violence from a young age, and men must “challenge harmful behaviours and attitudes, and call out abuse wherever it occurs”.
In November, the head of the National Disaster Management Centre, Dr Elias Sithole, formally classified GBVF a national disaster in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, because of the ongoing risk it posed to safety.
Chikunga said in her statement that legislation was not enough to change behaviour.
“We cannot end GBVF through legislation alone. We need a united nation, men, women, youth, traditional leaders, religious formations, business, labour, and civil society working in one direction. National efforts towards ending GBVF are both a moral duty and a collective responsibility,” she said.
The department said communities should use existing support services, including the GBVF Command Centre (0800 428 428), to assist those at risk.
INSIDE POLITICS