“As a society, ending violence against women and children cannot be
anything but our foremost priority,” - President Cyril Ramaphosa at
the second Presidential Summit on
Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in November 2022.
T
he Summit aimed to assess progress in the implementation of the Gender-based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan (GBVF-NSP), which was adopted as a comprehensive, effective and united response to the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) pandemic in South Africa. The GBVF-NSP was produced by the Interim Steering Committee established in April 2019 to respond to the gender-based violence and femicide crisis following the historic 2018 Presidential Summit on this subject. The National Strategic Plan is a government and civil society’s multisectoral strategic framework to realise a South Africa free from gender-based violence and femicide. President Ramaphosa said despite the efforts that have been made, violence against women and children continues unabated in South Africa.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO END THE BRUTALITY? By Jessie Taylor and Sinazo Mkoko 84
STANDARD BANK TO P W O M EN LEADERS
“Not a day goes by without a story in the newspapers, on television or online about a woman or child that has lost their life or been abused in the most horrendous manner,” - H.E. Ramaphosa. He added that the stories of women and children who are victims of GBVF, tell a story about a society that is “deeply disturbing.” “It is a story of a nation at war with itself. These barbaric acts are a shameful indictment of the men of this country.