‘We are still far from winning the GBV fight’

The fight against gender-based violence is far from being won.

This was the message from activists on Tuesday as SA wrapped up the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.

The Eastern Cape has witnessed heinous murders over the years. While there have been many victims whose names are not known, several of these murders have featured prominently in local and national media.

These include the deaths of:

Uyinene Mrwetyana in 2019;
East London boxer Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels also in 2019;
Angelique Clarke-Abrahams in 2021;
Nosicelo Mtebeni, who was butchered and stuffed into a suitcase, in 2021;
OR Tambo district municipality employee Namhla Mtwa in 2022;
Nomzamo Mhlanti, 42, and her five children aged from six months to 10 years in 2020; and
Sinobom Tywantsi, a six-year-old who was killed and his body dumped at Bhongweni Township near the King Phalo Airport in East London in 2022.

Recently, two elderly women were killed in Keiskammahoek.

Nkosikazi Nogcinile Mtirara was killed in her home in Mqhekezweni, on the same night in October when six grade 12 schoolgirls were allegedly raped at gunpoint by two men at their private boarding lodges in neighbouring Konkqeni village, about 3km from Mqhekezweni.

Dr Lesley Ann Foster, of Masimanyane Women’s Rights International, said there was “very little progress towards ending GBVF”.

“Femicides are now an average of 19 per day. Reported rape is supposedly down, but we know from the services we provide that there are spikes in the number of rapes,” Foster said.

The government has introduced interventions in the fight against the scourge, which President Cyril Ramaphosa described as a pandemic.

These include the National Strategic Plan on GBVF — the government’s comprehensive strategy for tackling all forms of violence and abuse against women and children — which was launched in 2020.

Other interventions include the community safety department’s Court Watching Brief and specialised sexual offences courts.

It was reported this week that nearly 70 rape cases that had been struck off the roll for a variety of reasons were brought back before the courts and the perpetrators successfully convicted in the 2023/2024 financial year.

But according to the head of advocacy at Women and Men Against Child Abuse, Luke Lamprecht, this was a drop in the ocean.

Lamprecht said annually more than 50,000 sexual offences were reported.

Police revealed 3,826 GBVF perpetrators were convicted between April 2023 and September 2024.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the SAPS had GBV desks at every police station to ensure those cases received priority attention and were speedily attended and responded to.

From April 2023 to September 2024, the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit registered the following successes:

16,668 GBVF suspect raids were conducted across the country;
29,150 GBVF suspects were arrested;
556 perpetrators were handed life sentences;
480 perpetrators were given prison sentences of n 20 years and more;
998 perpetrators were jailed for 10 to 19 years; and
1,792 perpetrators were given prison sentences of one to nine years.

Foster said: “Current strategies make small changes here and there but the real deep and wide transformation we need is not happening due to an overall lack of political will and limited resources.”

The Rev Xolamzi Sam, of the Eastern Cape Men’s Movement, said while there had been efforts to address GBV, “we are still far from winning this fight”.

“The scourge persists, and it’s clear that more needs to be done to eradicate it.

“Government initiatives, such as the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence, are crucial steps in the right direction. However, implementation remains a significant challenge.

“We need to see more tangible actions, increased funding, and better co-ordination among government departments, civil society and community organisations,” Sam said.

The marches and protests held across the country have been instrumental in raising awareness and mobilising public outrage against GBV.

“However, we cannot rely solely on marches and protests. We need sustained engagement, community-led initiatives and a fundamental shift in societal attitudes toward gender equality and masculinity.

“As a nation, we must confront the root causes of GBV, including patriarchal norms, poverty and inequality.”

Siyamthanda Ndlela, of the Indlezana Yezwe Foundation, said the efforts by the government and civil society had not achieved the desired results.

“We are trying and we will keep fighting. We thought the NSP would make a turnaround.

“Laws have been amended to deal with the issue of GBVF but things seem to be getting worse.

“It’s frustrating. We all need to work together to combat this scourge,” she said.

In a recent interview, Nomangwane Mrwetyana, Uyinene’s mother, said: “I believe there has been some inroads in terms of policies and the national strategic plan and all that, but a lot is still happening on the ground which is still quite saddening.

“The problem is implementation.”

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