By Nhlakanipho Mnqayi
With the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, which runs from 25 November to 10 December, non-profit organization Women For Change has called on the South African government to declare Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) a national disaster on the 21st of November 2025.
In a petition that has over a thousand signatures and the use of purple colour to mark the movement, the organization said the matter demands an immediate mobilization of national resources and unwavering political commitment to strengthen and transform the national response to the epidemic of violence against women and children.
“The South African government needs to show its commitment to wards this epidemic by funding the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) GBVF and the National Council on GBVF Bill of 2024.
“Every day in South Africa, at least 15 women are murdered and 117 women report rape cases to the police. At Women For Change, we witness this brutal reality daily-standing with families devastated by femicide and speaking out for sisters who have been brutally abused or raped.”
“It’s time to confront the painful truth that most cases of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide are committed by someone the victim knows- a partner, ex-partner, family member, or a close friend. Yet, countless women remain trapped in their own homes, silently enduring unimaginable abuse behind closed doors,” read Women For Change’s statement.
Credible Source took to the streets in Durban to ask women about their thoughts on the matter. Sibonisile Mdlozini said that the use of purple colour to mark this movement is powerful and it gives urgency and visibility to the issue.
“We need for people to understand that the purple is not for aesthetics, but rather it helps frame GBVF as a deep social problem that requires collective attention and action. The colour purple signifies mourning and remembrance of those lives lost to GBVF. This movement also declares GBVF as a national disaster which requires more implementation, funding and urgency.”
“In a nutshell, we are saying, as South African women, GBVF should be treated with the same urgency as other national disasters, because just like any other national disaster, lives are being lost every day. I am saying to men, its time to unlearn toxic masculinity. GBVF is not an act of love or discipline, it is abuse,” Mdlozini said.
Amanda Mabaso said: “Victim or not we have to take action and actually do something about it instead of just creating hashtags. I think as the youth we have the power to actually make a difference, even if it saves one person, but its still something. We’re actually encouraging women in abusive relationships to take a stand and say enough is enough,” she alluded.
“I think it’s long overdue because we die everyday. What Women For Change is doing is great because GBV is indeed a national disaster. A movement like this should be done every month so that there’ll be a difference up until we are taken seriously. It is not nice that everyday there are words such as in loving memory of, ubulawe indoda yakhe (she was killed by her boyfriend). We all need to take it seriously. We need something like the COVID-19 where there was a shutdown of everything at least for a week because one day is not enough,” Thembi Molefe said.
South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Stats from April 2023 to March 2024 shows that 5 578 women and 1 656 children were killed and 42 569 rape cases were reported.
