Ending GBV is everyoneâs problem 06 April 2021
(This project is in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa)
Last week, Daily Sun hosted the second in a series of webinars about ending gender-based violence. The webinar, entitled Accountability: How Communities Need to Show Up to End GBV, was co-hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa. It was held in March to mark International Women’s Day as well as Human Rights Day in South Africa.
Dr Zubeda Dangor
On the panel were Dr Zubeda Dangor, head of the National Shelter Movement of South Africa; Given Sigauqwe of Sonke Gender Justice; and Alexis Searle of The I Am Collective, with Gail Smith of the Soul City Institute facilitating.
Mar 2, 2021
President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address earlier this month said it was important for law enforcement agencies to reduce the backlog of gender-based violence (GBV) cases in the country. This comes after he named GBV the second pandemic in our country, with the crime statistics for the last quarter of 2020 showing a massive increase in violence against women and children.
However last month, National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) project co-ordinator Mariam Mangera said that despite the country finally having a national strategic plan to counter GBV, law enforcement does not seem to be making headway. Volunteer organisations with domestic violence helplines in place have also reported a near 30% rise in calls for help during the hard lockdown.
Picture: Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu.
Police continue to fail victims of domestic and gender-based violence (GBV), despite positive strides made in policy development for policing, according to the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA). Wednesday, 27 January, marked South Africa’s 16th National Police Day, a day set aside for the South African Police Service (Saps) to remember the sacrifices made by the police officers towards the safety of civilians. But those speaking for the women and children in civil society used the day to highlight the challenges and shortcomings of the police service as trends following the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak magnified existing patterns of.