Women for Change takes GBV fight to Union Buildings
Women for Change, will gather at the Union Building on Friday to demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa declare gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster.
This follows a series of GBV deaths and rape in the country, with the recent rape of eight-year-old Cwecwe allegedly in school premises at the Eastern Cape.
A researcher in Community and Social Development at the City of Tshwane, Lesego Mahlangu, said the efforts of the civil society have not been met with the urgency needed to confront GBV and femicide as the national disaster that it is.
Mahlangu said the country has seen a lot of demonstrations that are often triggered by brutal cases of rape and murder that shake the nation’s conscience.
READ: Thousands protest to demand justice for Cwecwe
She added that these situations, in most cases, are met with an opportunistic political response that is short-lived.
“From Uyinene Mrwetyana to Karabo Mokoena, from Tseko Makutu to countless unnamed children, the roll call of the violated and murdered continues to grow. Every death is followed by outrage. Every outrage is followed by dialogue. And every dialogue is followed by silence,“ said Mahlangu.
Mahlangu explained that over 50% of assaults against women were committed by someone known to them, with intimate partners or spouses accounting for at least 15% of these attacks.
READ MORE: GBV not adequately addressed in SONA - activist
“They happen in our homes, by those we love or trust. The 2020 COVID-19 lockdown further revealed the gravity of the situation wherein calls to GBV helplines surged, while survivors were left trapped in isolation with their abusers.”
She said it is irresponsible of the government to demand “evidence-based” submissions while women and children were being buried and victimised every day.
Mahlangu added that they would continue to demonstrate even if civil society does not have all the answers to justify the call for the declaration of a national disaster.
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