By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, has officially classified the Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) as a national disaster following growing concerns over the abuse of women and children.
The classification now requires all organs of State to fully implement contingency measures to ensure the government manages the crisis effectively.
The classification of GBVF as a national disaster is not the same as a formal declaration of a national disaster. A declaration would give the government access to emergency funds and special emergency powers to address the crisis.
According to Hlabisa, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) reached its decision after “a thorough reassessment of previous reports and updated submissions from organs of state as well as civil organisations”.
The classification was based on “persistent and immediate life-safety risks posed by ongoing acts of violence” and that GBVF now meets the threshold of a potential disaster as defined in the Act.
He added that all organs of state must now strengthen support to GBVF response structures and ensure that all necessary mechanisms are activated.
This comes after women’s rights groups are engaging in nationwide protests to demand that gender-based violence (GBV) be declared a national disaster in a country where attacks on women have become commonplace.
The campaign began with a viral social media movement and culminated in a nationwide “shutdown” on Friday, ahead of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.
Celebrities, citizens and nations have shown their solidarity by changing their social media profile pictures to purple – a colour often linked to GBV awareness.
South Africa experiences some of the world’s highest levels of GBV, with the rate at which women are killed five times higher than the global average, according to UN Women.
Between January and March this year, 137 women were murdered and more than 1,000 raped, according to South African crime statistics.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the G20 Social Summit that South Africa had “declared gender based violence and femicide a national crisis” in 2019.
However, activists says that little has changed and they want the government to take more action.
Women for Change spokesperson Cameron Kasambala lamented the enactment of “so many beautiful acts and legislations” over the years to try and tackle the issue, which are followed by “lack of implementation and transparency” on the government’s part.
Ramaphosa said the state intends to accelerate its efforts to protect vulnerable citizens, making clear that addressing GBVF is now being prioritised as a global emergency. He said that government, in partnership with social stakeholders, has committed to advancing coordinated action to confront the crisis head-on.