90-Day blitz to combat gender-based violence in South Africa

The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster has launched a 90-day blitz to accelerate national interventions in response to Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in South Africa.

The campaign was announced following a special sitting of JCPS Ministers and senior officials on Monday, 14 April.

Chaired by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, the session addressed the surge in GBVF incidents and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fast-tracking the National Strategic Plan on GBVF.

“The Cluster affirmed the need to reclaim the national narrative on GBVF and broader security matters, ensuring that government, not external actors, leads public discourse on these issues,” read the JCPS statement.

Among the immediate actions adopted was the “reconstitution” of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBVF under the current administration, with a formal request submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Committee will focus on coordinating interventions and managing “systemic bottlenecks”. They are expected to convene in the coming days.

To enhance efforts, a new GBVF Priority Committee will be formed under the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), co-chaired by the Departments of Social Development and Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.

“This structure aims to improve the coordination of frontline security and protection interventions.”

The Cluster has further announced that the efforts of provincial JCPS structures will also be bolstered, in a bid for more targeted and localised interventions.

Other key resolutions include the expansion of Thuthuzela Care Centres across all provinces, urgent maintenance of SOS systems in courts to protect survivors and witnesses, and the integration of GBVF data across the justice system. Government departments were also directed to submit detailed, time-bound action plans and to nominate senior officials for strengthening the National Council on GBVF.

These renewed efforts are in light of concerns raised during the sitting regarding delays in processing GBVF cases and the alarming rise in children arrested for sexual offences. A dedicated team will align police, prosecutorial, and correctional services to address these delays, while NATJOINTS has been tasked with formulating a rapid response to child-related sexual crime.

“Government enters this period with full force, calling on every organ of state and sector of society to play an active, decisive role in eradicating GBVF.”

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This follows nationwide protests earlier this month, where protestors called for decisive action by authorities following the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl in Matatiele, in the Eastern Cape last year.

The women’s rights organisation, Women For Change, has cautiously welcomed the government’s renewed response, but is still demanding that GBVF be declared a national disaster. Earlier this month, the group handed over a petition to Parliament, demanding this. It said it will give the Presidency and the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities until 10 May to decide on this.

“If there is no response by this deadline, we will not stay silent. We will keep to Unbury The Truth and raise our voices because this is not just a campaign but a fight for survival,” read a statement by Women for Change.