GBVF is now officially a national disaster, requiring all levels of government to intensify prevention, support services and long-term interventions. Photo: File
The government has officially classified gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) as a national disaster.
The head of the National Disaster Management Centre, Bongani Sithole, made the decision after reviewing new reports from government and civil society. The centre found that the ongoing violence poses serious and immediate risks to people’s safety and now meets the legal definition of a national disaster.
“This effort brings together every part of government and every major sector,” Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said, welcoming the decision. “GBVF is not a women’s issue – it is a national crisis.”
By classifying GBVF as a national disaster, the national executive becomes responsible for coordinating the country’s response, using existing laws and systems already in place.
The classification means that all parts of government must strengthen their support for GBVF programmes; authorities must fully implement their prevention and emergency plans; communities, the private sector and individuals are urged to take more decisive action to prevent violence; and people are urged not to commit acts of gender-based violence.
National, provincial and municipal governments must also work together on prevention, support services, relief and long-term recovery.
Importantly, this is not a national state of disaster. No emergency powers are being activated.
Instead, the move strengthens existing efforts, including the inter-ministerial committee on GBVF, the intergovernmental committee on disaster management and the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure priority committee.
Other existing initiatives are the 90-Day GBVF acceleration programme; the expansion of Thuthuzela care centres — one-stop facilities that provide integrated care and support for survivors of sexual violence — as well as the strengthening of sexual offences courts and reforms to the criminal justice system.
Government departments, municipalities, NGOs and communities must now send regular progress reports to the National Disaster Management Centre so their work can be monitored.
The classification will be lifted once the situation no longer meets the definition of a disaster. If a national state of disaster is declared in the future, this classification will lapse automatically.
On Friday, the eve of the G20 Leaders Summit, women and LGBTQI+ across South Africa hosted a national shutdown, led by the non-profit Women For Change, where thousands downed tools to highlight the scourge of GBVF.
It had demanded that GBVF be declared a national disaster, “because until South Africa stops burying a woman every 2.5 hours, the G20 cannot speak of growth and progress”.
On Thursday, at the G20 Social Summit, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government would classify GBVF as a national disaster.
“For almost 10 years, I have listened to the most horrific stories imaginable,” Sabrina Walter, the founder of Women For Change, said in a statement posted on the social media platform TikTok.
“I have witnessed the unbearable grief of families who had to identify the bodies of the women they loved. I have sat with survivors who carry their trauma in every breath they take. Women For Change has carried these stories with deep honour and relentless determination.
“Today, that persistence has been recognised. We have won. Our petition – backed by more than 1.1 million people across the world – demanding GBVF be declared a national disaster has succeeded … This moment feels impossible to describe.”