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March against GBVF
As the country observes the start of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children tomorrow, civil society movements say there needs to be a clear plan of action, preventative measures and strategies, amid Gender-based Violence and Femicide being classified a national disaster.
Government officially classified GBVF a national disaster last week following growing protests.
Although some activists have questioned the timing of the announcement, others are happy about the declaration.
GBVF Classified as a National Disaster
Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa welcomes the NDMC’s decision to classify Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) as a national disaster under Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act.
🔗 Full statement: pic.twitter.com/d0Gt9zO0yM
— NationalCoGTA 🇿🇦 (@NationalCoGTA) November 21, 2025
The movement believes healthcare systems and facilities will need to be funded. Some activists believe a change of behaviour is also required. This is what they had to say.
“So, I think with it being declared a national disaster it’s important in terms of mobilization, to get people to implement strategies that are going to support survivors, but also to prevent violence. Otherwise, we’re just going to be treating symptoms of violence and not the problem itself. So, when we’re talking about the national disaster being declared, we’re also talking about changing social behaviour and we’ve seen this been done with COVID,” says one of the activists.
“Timing wise, it’s also perfect. It’s also perfect because you can’t take it back, because you said it at a time where the world, the globe was looking at South Africa. So, you can’t take it back. Now, it’s enough of we’re a national crisis, we’re speaking, now it’s time for action,” says another activist.
“The existing national strategic plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide that was drafted in 2019 needs to be revisited. So, since the plan was drafted, we’ve surely seen an increased number of women and children been violated, murdered, abused, raped,” says another activist.
Activists have warned the South African government not to ignore root causes of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, including unemployment, poverty, and financial inequality.
A meeting on Friday is expected to outline a detailed plan and define the roles of civil society and NGOs.
The Women for Change organisation says they didn’t expect the declaration to be made before the silent nationwide shutdown.
Spokesperson Cameron Kasambala says they now want to see a action that equates to the magnitude of the crisis.
“There’s now a need for urgent and efficient implementation of existing policies and frameworks. What we’re expecting to see is more transparency in reports as well as audits, explaining exactly how funding will be allocated better to implement things like the national strategic plan.”
