- Lamenting the growing scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa was seemingly at war with its women and children.
- He said the “barbaric acts” of gender-based violence and femicide were an indictment of the country’s men.
- Ramaphosa called on men to correct their ways and stop this “pandemic” in its tracks.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has lamented the continued increase in gender-based violence and femicide incidents despite government and civil society efforts to eradicate the scourge.
"The manner in which all these murders and rapes happen tell a story about our society that is deeply disturbing," Ramaphosa said.
"It is a story of a nation that is seemingly at war with itself but much worse; it is a story of a nation that is at war with the women of its country and the children of its country.”
He made these utterances at the second gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) summit held at the Gallagher Estate in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
He said the barbaric acts were an indictment on the men of South Africa.
“It is not women who are responsible for ending such crimes; it is men who are responsible and who must take responsibility to end the violence and murder against women and children,” said the president.
Ramaphosa’s utterances came after civil society organisations highlighted a steady increase in gender-violence cases.
This has left South Africa as one of the most violent countries outside of a war zone, the organisations argued.
Professor Naeemah Abrahams, director of the gender and resource unit of the SA Medical Research Council, said while there was a decrease in femicide incidents, three women were still being killed each day in South Africa.
More worrying, Abrahams said, was the fact that these women were being killed by their intimate partners.
President @CyrilRamaphosa delivers the keynote address #endGBVF #GBVFSummit2022 https://t.co/y4Lxk77RMz
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In the first quarter of 2021, there were 558 women murdered, according to police records.
This number drastically increased in the first quarter of 2022, with 855 women murdered.
While 116 children were murdered in 2021, Abrahams said that 243 children had already lost their lives this year.
“We can’t afford to be complacent. We are going backwards in terms of femicide,” Abrahams warned.
She said the latest data was concerning as between 1999 and 2017, there had been a gradual decline in femicide rates in the country.
Femicides reported in 2017 stood at 2 407, a significant drop from the 3 793 total recorded in 1999.
Of the 2 407 deaths in 2017, however, Abrahams said 1 033 were killed by an intimate partner.
Abrahams said part of the reason for the decline in the killing of women and children by men during the 18-year period between 1999 and 2017 could be credited to gun control.
“We have seen how gun control has had a substantial impact in decreasing all forms of femicide,” said Abrahams.
She reiterated that it was clear that dedicated government policies and programming to combat GBV were reaping the rewards in reducing femicide.
Delivering his address, Ramaphosa said the government was listening hence its “firm commitment to a comprehensive, effective and united response to combating GBVF”.
Furthermore, Ramaphosa said the development of a national strategic plan would coordinate various sectors involved in the fight against GBVF.
In this endeavor, Ramaphosa said the government had embarked on a number of interventions to deal with the scourge.
"Yet, despite our efforts, violence against women and children continues unabated in our country. Data from the SAPS shows that sexual offences and rape increased by 13% between 2017/18 … Between the first quarter of 2022, there was a 52% increase in the murder of women and a 46% increase in the number of children murdered.
“Not a day goes by without a story of a woman or child that has lost their life or having been abused most horrendously,” said Ramaphosa.