‘We can reduce GBVF but aren’t doing it’

It’s four years since the launch of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP on GBVF) and much work remains to be done, according to academics and activists at the National Shelter Indaba.

The event to assess progress in implementing the NSP on GBVF is part of efforts to fast-track the outcomes of the 2022 Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.

SA may not fully end GBVF but it can do better

Dr Nechama Brodie, a researcher who has spent over a decade investigating the killing of women, said while SA may not fully end gender-based violence, it could be doing a far better job.

“We have all these words of law and possibly have the most scientific data in the world, but women are still dying. We are not using them correctly. Our knowledge is not protecting us,” she charged.

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Brodie highlighted the failure to implement recommendations from South Africa’s first femicide study, conducted in 2004.

These included establishing a public database, training investigating officers on female murders, creating guidelines for managing homicide cases, more gun control and reducing alcohol abuse.

‘We need to start small’

Brodie said: “I believe we know what needs to be done to reduce femicide, but 20 years later we are still not doing it. We need to start with small, measurable steps. This is the role of government. That’s a place to start.”

Dr Zubeda Dangor of the National Shelter Movement of South Africa said lack of funding for shelters impeded the national strategic plan.

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