Today marks the official start of this year’s observation of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children — the global movement the country joined nearly three decades ago.
Every year, this day is observed with speeches, events and reflections on the alarming statistics of the victims, but women and children continue to be murdered to no end. Every year the same calls for better plans to address the scourge are made; however, very little seems to change if crime statistics are anything to go by.
On Friday, thousands of people across the country joined a mass protest led by Women For Change, calling for an end to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in SA. The demonstrations culminated in the scourge being declared a national disaster by minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa.
The classification, according to Hlabisa, calls for organs of the state to strengthen their support for existing GBVF responses to fully implement contingency arrangements to ensure all mechanisms are active to manage the scourge effectively.
According to the last crime statistics released in May covering the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, there were 966 murders of women recorded and 314 children killed. These were significant increases compared to figures released a year before.
We do not yet know what the figures for the first quarter of 2025/26 look like because of leadership instability at the top echelons of the police ministry after Senzo Mchunu was placed on special leave amid allegations of interference in the work of police.
This ongoing violence against children and women, however, is a stark reminder of the persistent crisis in our society that requires urgent attention beyond legislation, commemorations and speeches.
Yes, we need a properly resourced justice system, strong prosecution, better trained police officers and coordinated effort from society and the media to fight this scourge.
This is why we are joining this battle with a campaign on Sowetan’s platforms from today to highlight the growing impact of this scourge. We will be giving a voice to the victims and families ripped apart by violence and holding those in government to account on what is being done to end this pandemic.
We urge you to play your part in joining this campaign by speaking out against GBV, giving support to those affected, and reporting any incidents of violence against women and children to the police.
Sowetan
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