Men should be at the forefront of the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide, because it is them who violate women, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
During his address at the Association of Women Judges Conference (IAWJ) in Cape Town on Wednesday, April 9, Ramaphosa emphasised that ending gender-based violence should not be the responsibility of women alone.
He argued that it should also involve men.
“Men should be in the forefront of the struggle because it is us as men who violate women,” Ramaphosa said.
“So, in many ways, we must lead the struggle against gender-based violence.”
Even though there’s been decrease in various serious crimes, including a 9.8% reduction in murders, a 3.3% drop in rape incidents, and a 3.2% decline in attempted sexual offences, as revealed in the Third Quarter Crime Statistics for 2023/2024, women and children still continue to fall victims of GBV in the country.
Ramaphosa said this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which encourages signatories to domesticate its principles, commitments, and goals, and translate them into concrete national actions.
He said South Africa, like many of the countries represented in the IAWJ, is a signatory to the declaration.
“The impact of this landmark document has been profound and far-reaching in shaping our country’s policies and practices around gender equality,” he said.
“We understood that gender-based violence affects women and girls, and that the impacts of GBV are profound, including physical injury, long-term mental health problems, and even death.”
Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
Ramaphosa said that GBV also contributes to wider social issues, such as perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality.
“We know that GBV doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is the result of complex societal, cultural, and structural factors, some of which are the unequal power dynamics between men and women, cultural norms and practices, unemployment, conflict and wars and patriarchy,” he said.
Ramaphosa further said there is economic violence against women, where they are prevented from accessing financial resources and achieving independence, thereby condemning them to poverty.
“Given all this, we had to embark on a number of efforts to combat GBV including legal reforms, public awareness campaigns, support services for survivors, and initiatives aimed at changing societal attitudes around gender roles and power dynamics,” Ramaphosa added.
Last month, IOL News reported that Sindisiwe Chikunga, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) launched the Roots to Rise: A Movement to End GBVF.
She acknowledged that South Africa had a serious GBVF problem, largely rooted in patriarchy and inequality.
Chikunga expressed that the campaign will go a long way in fighting against GBVF.
“I believe it is campaigns such as the one you are launching today that will move the needle in rallying all of society to reflect on the past, ongoing, and intersectional ways through which violence against women is being reproduced at systemic, structural, household, and individual levels.”
Explaining the use of the dashboard, Chikunga said it will centralise real-time data on service delivery, prevention efforts, and justice outcomes.
“This will allow us to identify patterns, gaps, and progress with clarity. It will also enable us to track implementation across all six pillars of the National Strategic Plan, offering a bird’s-eye view of how our country is responding.
IOL Politics