Women For Change as a civil society is advocating for the protection of the constitutional rights of women and children in South Africa.
In 2020 President Ramaphosa signed the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide, but there has been no progress.
This petition is addressing the State to prioritise GBV and finally implement the changes.
Government’s bureaucracy and their lack of accountability, transparency, and responsiveness to the scourge of Gender Based Violence and Femicide is one of the key reasons why more women will be killed in this country. We urge the State that the Constitution places an obligation on them to respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights and we expect the State to act decisively and with intent to eradicate GBV.
Gender Based Violence and Femicide in South Africa has reached crisis proportions pre and during COVID 19 at an alarming rate. Women are being brutalised and their constitutional rights violated with impunity. Every day stories are published about missing children and slaughtered women, from the rural to urban communities. Due to lack of action, this scourge will continue to destroy our society.
- Femicide is 5x the global average rate.
- One woman is murdered every 3 hours. 2695 women were murdered in 2019/2020.
- An average of 146 sexual offences are reported per day. 53 293 sexual offences were reported in 2019/2020.
- It is estimated that more than 95% of sexual offences go unreported.
- 4th Highest death rate from interpersonal violence of 183 countries. The highest outside a war zone.
The Constitution of South Africa guarantees various protections against GBV in South Africa. These include: the right to equality (section 9), which includes equality before the law, and equal protection and benefit before the law for everyone, and the prohibition of unfair discrimination by the State and individuals on several grounds, including gender. Section 10 of the Constitution guarantees the right to human dignity, while the right to life is guaranteed in section 11. Importantly, section 12 of the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right of everyone to be free from all forms of violence.
South Africa has several laws and policies that aim to address GBV. But the responsibility is placed on State organs and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to ensure that survivors of domestic violence are adequately protected. Despite progressive developments, incidences of GBV in South Africa remain extremely high due to the failures in the criminal justice system. To protect the dignity and freedom of women and children, government departments can no longer fail to prioritise GBV policies and programmes to eradicate Gender Based Violence.
We are demanding an immediate intervention, to bring about the change to women and children they have been pleading for.
This petition is in partnership with Women Lead Movement.