16 Days of Activism: GBV ‘pandemic’ continues to haunt SA

It has been five years since President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that “gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa should be considered a second pandemic in the country – as serious as the coronavirus.”

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I stand before the women and girls of South Africa this evening to talk about another pandemic that is raging in our country: the killing of women and children by the men of our country,” Ramaphosa said at the time.

Pandemic

While the Covid-19 pandemic has come and gone, GBV remains deeply entrenched in South African society. Once again, Ramaphosa has emphasised that every South African has a role to play in ending GBV.

As the country marked the start of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, Ramaphosa used his weekly newsletter, From the Desk of the President, on Monday to highlight the ongoing crisis.

“Women and children are being beaten, assaulted and killed in the streets, in the workplace, at places of learning, and in their homes.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Ministers roasted at Presidential GBVF Summit

“Women and children are supposed to feel most safe within the home. Yet it is within the home where the majority of the world’s victims of gender-based violence (GBV) die at the hands of men,” Ramaphosa said.

Sexism

Ramaphosa said intimate partner violence remains the most prevalent form of gender-based violence in South Africa.

He said sexism is at the root of these crimes.

“The belief that men and boys are superior to women and girls. We must therefore address head-on the idea that women are the ‘property’ of their husbands and boyfriends and that they can be beaten, abused and even killed at whim.

“We must address the economic dimension, where men think they have the right over the bodies of their wives because they are breadwinners, or because they finance the lifestyles of their girlfriends.

“Many women find themselves trapped in situations of economic dependence, feeling they have to put up with abuse because the alternative is destitution,” Ramaphosa said.

Prevention

Ramaphosa said the fight to end gender-based violence must begin with prevention.

“This means, among other things, that we must address how many men and boys are raised and how they are socialised.

“Ending gender-based violence begins with changing the narrative. Women’s rights and gender equality are non-negotiable. They are not culturally relative or open to interpretation,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said that just as gender-based violence affects everyone, we must all work together to overcome it.

“We must all play our part. We must all speak up and speak out. Gender-based violence and femicide have no place in our society. None of us must look away,” Ramaphosa said.

Crime stats

On Monday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu revealed that over 2,500 women and children were murdered in South Africa between April and September this year, equating to an average of 14 women and children killed each day.

“Gender-based violence, which has become a national priority crime, requires our distinct focus, as it continues to devastate families and communities, with a unique set of challenges that demand specialised intervention, thorough investigations, and collaborative solutions,” said Mchunu. 

“The rise in crimes against women and children demands urgent and sustained action. We need every South African to play their part in addressing gender-based violence,” he added.

Since its inception, the 16 Days of Activism global campaign has garnered support from organisations and activists in over 187 countries, including South Africa.

ALSO READ: Please leave our women alone