By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga said the inaugural meeting of the National Council on Monday, marked a defining moment in South Africa’s ongoing fight against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).
Chikunga was addressing the media on progress made in operationalising the GBVF Council.
The Council includes representatives from government, women’s rights organisations, survivor advocacy groups, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations, disability rights organisations, youth formations, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) advocacy structures, research and academic institutions, traditional and community leadership formations, business, labour and development partners.
The National Council is established in terms of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Act, 2024 (Act No. 9 of 2024), following years of advocacy by women’s movements, civil society organisations, faith communities, labour, traditional leaders, business, and government.
Chikunga said the Council’s establishment is more than the creation of another public institution.
“This is not simply the establishment of another public institution. It is the institutionalisation of a national commitment to eradicate one of the gravest violations of human rights in democratic South Africa, “Chikunga said.
Chikunga noted that the Council stands as a permanent, statutory and multisectoral mechanism through which South Africa will coordinate, monitor and strengthen its response to GBVF.
“It embodies the collective determination of the nation to ensure that women, children and vulnerable persons can live free from fear, abuse, violence and discrimination.”
She said the Council’s establishment gives practical expression to the National Strategic Plan on GBVF 2020-2030, which recognises the need for a coordinated institutional mechanism capable of driving a national response beyond electoral cycles and departmental boundaries.
Chikunga also noted that the Council begins its work against a backdrop of compelling evidence on the scale of GBVF in the country.
The Human Sciences Research Council’s First South African National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study, released in November 2024, found that approximately 7.3 million women aged 18 years and older have experienced physical violence during their lifetime, while more than 2.15 million have experienced sexual violence.
The study also found that women with disabilities face particularly high levels of vulnerability, with the prevalence of sexual violence by a lifetime partner twice as high among women with disabilities compared with women without disabilities.
The latest South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Statistics also recorded 50 511 GBVF cases during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, with 30 736 resulting in arrests or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority.