Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) a national disaster, calling on all sectors of society to take urgent action against the scourge that continues to devastate South African women and girls.
In his Monday newsletter, Ramaphosa highlighted the country’s alarming GBVF statistics, noting that “more than 35% of South African women aged 18 and older have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime,” with the majority of perpetrators being intimate partners, according to the 2022 National GBV Study by the Human Sciences Research Council.
“This classification strengthens the mandates of the respective government departments, such as Social Development, Justice, Health, Police and Basic Education, to tackle GBVF,” the President said, adding that it would allow “expanded access to shelters, safe spaces, psycho-social counselling and community-based prevention programmes” and enable “faster emergency resource allocation for survivor services, enhanced monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and strengthen oversight.”
Dear Fellow South African,
As South Africa and the world observes 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence from 25 November to 10 December, it is a shame that our country has the dubious distinction of having one of the world’s highest levels of violence against women… pic.twitter.com/WHs2OR0Wsr
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) December 8, 2025
Ramaphosa noted that the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority have already stepped up efforts to address GBVF. “More victim-friendly facilities and services, including specialised GBV desks, have been rolled out at SAPS stations across the country. A GBVF Information Centre has been set up at the SAPS Academy in Pretoria to track incidents.”
The President also emphasised the importance of prevention and the role of men in ending GBVF. “Unless we directly engage men in prevention efforts, we will continue to have marches, hold protests and conduct social media campaigns, but the statistics will not change. Even as men are the main perpetrators of GBVF, they are also part of the solution. This is not a fight to be waged by women alone.”
Under the national disaster classification, Ramaphosa said the government will accelerate prevention programmes targeting men and boys.
He called for “a concerted, sustained nationwide programme of dialogues with men and boys to engage openly on what is driving this pandemic, and what must be done to arrest it.”
Ramphosa appealed to all South Africans to take responsibility: “Whether as communities, civil society, government, faith leaders, business, unions or citizens, we must all play our part in bringing this scourge to an end…The safety and security of women and children is everybody’s business.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
