GBV is on the rise in South Africa
On April 11 2025, the Non-Profit Organisation Women for Change[1], which is dedicated to ending Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country, organised a march upon the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, to hand over a memorandum to the South African Government to declare GBV a national disaster, including demands for adequate measures to do so.[2]
It wasn’t just a march of many people. It was a burial – unfortunately, in the worst sense it could have been meant.
Women for Change brought a casket that was 33.8% bigger than a usual casket. The NGO states that the size of the casket was increased in response to the rise in GBV in the country over the year, from 2023 to 2024.[3]
In total, this means that in 2024, an additional 1,409 women became victims of femicide in South Africa compared to the previous year. Women for Change, as all of us, can only rely on the official figures, which means that only registered cases of GBV are taken into account when publishing these numbers. There is no officially estimated figure on the potential unreported cases.
33,8% more than a year before. A third!
The casket was decorated with thousands of Zulu braids, handcrafted by women for women. Each one of the ones was a symbol for one live lost to GBV. One for each woman that was murdered in 2024. 5,578 women were murdered in one year, which means a statistical figure of 15 women per day whose murders were reported.
In addition, in 2024, 42,569 rape cases were reported, which means 117 reported rape cases per day, and 1,656 children became GBV fatalities.[4]
Governmental plans to reduce GBV
In 2020, the Government of South Africa published the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. The Vision was “A South Africa free from gender-based violence directed at women, children and LGBTQIA+ persons”.[5] The foreword is signed by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, and it states “As government, we will continue to support this NSP by ensuring that it is integrated into government planning processes, that the necessary resources are made available, and that it yields concrete and tangible results.”[6]
While the NSP’s strategic plan is to end (or at least significantly diminish) GBV within 10 years, it outlines a strategy that not only needs some funding but also relies largely on the work and support of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF).
The NCGBVF Act is based on the NSP on GBV. It is about the constitution of the Council, it was signed into law in May 2024 and came into effect on the 15th of November 2024.
To make it clear: it took South Africa four years from plan to law. But until today, the council is not in place yet. Already, nearly half of the time that was initially planned in the NSP to end GBV or at least significantly reduce it is over. Still, the Council must constitute, agree on measurements and introduce them.
The funeral
Some weeks after the march upon the Union Building, the responsible minister reacted to the memorandum with a letter in which is assured that the government is aware that GBV is a concerning problem in South Africa and that it has to be ended. The minister refers to the demands of Women for Change and explains the challenges and obstacles, as well as the process required for legal changes, noting that this will be a time-consuming endeavour to change the status quo.[7] A table is added to the letter in which the latest and ongoing efforts and changes to some of the demands are listed.[8] One thing in the response including the annexure repeats in the paperwork is a lack of funding.
According to the Annexure, the Financial Commitments and Budget allocation is “subject to availability of funds”.[9]
The letter with is annexure does not show any glimpse of fighting for women’s rights and protection. It reads like a surrender to fate.
On the day of the response, the minister and the entire government buried the will to protect more than half of their citizens.
Necessary changes for a long-term impact
In February this year, the African Union, of which South Africa is a member, adopted a convention to end violence against women and girls.[10] South Africa, which considers itself as one of the leading countries on the continent, should take on a leading role.
One surely can discuss whether the demands of Women for Change can or should be met completely. The change of legislation must be done carefully while keeping the personal rights that are or might be affected in mind.
When it comes to GBV in South Africa, and frankly speaking, in the world, there must be done more to fight the threat at the roots to get a long-term impact.
Besides changing laws for immediate effect, there must be a different approach in education, which means to also educate kids from young ages, and which doesn’t mean the one a former regional health minister took in 2022[11], which was not only far from addressing the issue but furthermore was a pure expression of ignorance to the problem.
Certain beliefs also must be addressed; people must, as a community stand together and call out the perpetrators. The executive personnel must be equipped properly, and safe spaces and safe houses for women must be created. It is important to get to the point that victims do not feel ashamed to report crimes and that they feel and – more important – are taken seriously.
South Africa’s government must act to protect women in the country. It cannot afford to – again – fail one of their most vulnerable groups any longer.
[1] Women for Change, ‘Women For Change’ (4 May 2025) <https://womenforchange.co.za/> accessed 9 September 2025.
[2] Women for Change, ‘MEMORANDUM: Declare Gender-BAsed Violence and Femicide a National Disaster’ (Petition Handover and Demonstration) <https://womenforchange.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Women-For-Change-MEMORANDUM-01.04.2025-2.pdf> accessed 11 September 2025.
[3] Women for Change, ‘Unburiable Casket’ (2025) <https://unburiedcasket.womenforchange.co.za/> accessed 9 September 2025.
[4] Women for Change, ‘Petition: Declare GBVF a National Disaster’ (22 April 2025) <https://womenforchange.co.za/petition-gbvf-national-disaster/> accessed 9 September 2025.
[5] Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, ‘National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence & Femicide: Human Dignity and Healing, Safety, Freedom & Equality in our Lifetime’ (Pretoria 2020) 17 <https://www.justice.gov.za/vg/gbv/NSP-GBVF-FINAL-DOC-04-05.pdf> accessed 9 September 2025.
[6] ibid 2.
[7] Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, ‘Acknowledgement of Receipt and Response to the Memorandum: To Declare Gender-Based Violence a National Disaster’ <https://womenforchange.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Acknowledgement-and-Response-Letter-to-WFC_new.pdf> accessed 11 September 2025.
[8] Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, ‘Annexure 1: Womens for Change’ (13 May 2025) <https://womenforchange.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Annexure-1-Responses-by-departments_Women-for-Change.pdf> accessed 11 September 2025.
[9] ibid 8.
[10] African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ‘African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls’ (11 September 2025) <https://achpr.au.int/en/soft-law/ending-violence-against-women-and-girls> accessed 11 September 2025.
[11] BBC News, ‘South Africa minister tells schoolgirls to ‘open books and close legs’’ BBC News (13 January 2022) <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59986422> accessed 11 September 2025.
