TAKE ACTION AND #INTERRUPTBROKENPROMISES
In 2019, following years of public outcry and increased pressure from people and civil society to address the unacceptably high level of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in South Africa, President Ramaphosa announced that urgent action was required.
Under the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, this included the commitment of additional funding to tackle GBVF, resources for training personnel in the criminal justice system and the reduction of the GBV-related DNA backlog.
Yet, in the 2020/21 financial year, 2,655 women were murdered in South Africa. This is equivalent to 7 women murdered every day and one woman murdered every three hours. The most recent quarterly crime statistics also saw a 4.2% increase in women murdered compared to the previous period.
So the question we need an answer to is, what happened to the additional resources, budget and personnel the President committed to deploying in 2019?
COMMITMENT VS REALITY
1. National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF)
The government committed to establishing the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) by 2019.
#BROKENPROMISE
To date, the council is yet to be established.
2. DNA BACKLOG
By 2020 the government committed to reducing the GBV-related forensic cases backlog from 16,000 to 5,000.
#BROKENPROMISE
There is now an entire DNA backlog of 154,204 cases, delaying justice for victims and survivors of GBVF.
3. SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE (SAPS) TRAINING
By 2021, the South Africa Police Service committed to training 919 police officers on proactive GBV interventions in the first year of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF’S implementation.
By 2021, the South African Police Service committed to training 565 police officers on reactive interventions in the first year of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF’s implementation.
#BROKENPROMISE
Only 272 police officials were reported to have been trained on proactive interventions. This is 29.6% of its target.
Only 104 police officers were reported to have been trained on reactive interventions. This is 18.4% of its target.
EVERY WOMAN IN SOUTH AFRICA HAS A RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE, RESPECTED AND TO LIVE FREE FROM VIOLENCE.
TAKE ACTION AND #INTERRUPTBROKENPROMISES
The immediate establishment of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, including the development of a costed and funded operational plan.
The DNA backlog of 154,204 cases is cleared by the end of September 2022, as publicly committed to by Minister for Police Bheki Cele on 24 March 2022.
The immediate rollout of appropriate, mandatory and continuous victim-centric training for personnel in the criminal justice system, increased transparency about how many people have been trained, and the impact of the training.
For clear, measurable annual performance targets to be developed for every indicator of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF, and for this information to be made publicly available.
For transparent, timely, accurate and regular progress reports to be made public and accessible on a bi-annual basis by all relevant government departments on the implementation of the above indicators. Government departments must align their performance and targets across all annual performance plans, annual reports and the National Strategic Plan on GBVF.
