Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has reiterated government’s commitment to fighting the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in South Africa.
The Minister delivered remarks at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation’s Women Empowerment 365 Days Against Gender-Based Violence dialogue held in Soweto on Tuesday.
“As part of [the] criminal justice system, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is working tirelessly to ensure that legal and law enforcement services work on enforcing domestic violence laws and strengthening legal frameworks,” the Minister said.
The department, she said, is working closely with civil society to see the “realisation of the aspirations of the National Strategic Plan to End Gender-based Violence and Femicide”.
“In line with the GBVF Strategic Plan, the department therefore intends to increase the national footprint of sexual offences courts, particularly in rural communities.
“In line with the newly developed National Strategy on Support Services for Domestic Violence Survivors, the department intends to upgrade 100 district courts to offer services that are custom-made for survivors of domestic violence,” she said.
The National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide was adopted in 2020 as a society-wide programme to end GBVF. It is organised around six pillars, which are aimed at prevention of GBV, strengthening the criminal justice response to GBV, and providing support, care and healing to survivors of gender-based violence.
Femicide Watch and addressing backlogs
Kubayi said the department will publish the very first Femicide Watch in Africa repository.
“This is a national repository of GBV-related femicide cases designed to provide the numerical analysis, the profile and the severity of the pandemic of femicide in our country, so as to assist government and our partners in establishing informed programmatic interventions,” Kubayi added.
In the courts, the department has initiated a 100-day challenge to “reduce and ultimately eliminate backlog cases of domestic violence, sexual offences, maintenance and divorce matters”.
“In 100 Days, selected courts with high volume of backlog GBV cases will be challenged to come up with creative and sustainable innovations to reduce the turnaround times in the finalisation of these cases and also to address the existing case backlogs,” the Minister explained.
Whole of society approach
Kubayi highlighted that GBVF is deeply rooted in societal structures and patriarchal practices that perpetuate toxic masculinity and gender inequalities.
“As a woman or a girl child in this country, you can be directly affected by GBV and femicide regardless of your socio-economic class in society or the position you hold.
“Our social and family constructions are largely engrained in patriarchal practices, toxic masculinities, and gendered power inequalities, which often result in family dysfunctions, solo parenting, gender-based violence and killings,” she said.
Referencing a study by the Human Sciences Research Council, which found that at least three out of 10 women have experienced GBV, the Minister urged society not to become desensitised to these acts.
“This is not acceptable, and we should not accept [it] as a society. The stories of women getting killed by their partners have become so prevalent on social media platforms to the extent that when we read them, we no longer get shocked or outraged, we just read and move on.
“It is for this reason that I welcome this dialogue because it serves as a reminder to all of us that gender-based violence is unacceptable and that remaining silent is not an option.
“We all have a responsibility to speak out, to report it wherever it rears its ugly head in our homes, our neighboursand even in the homes of our beloved relatives,” Kubayi said.
The Minister called for a united front, urging all sectors of society to join the fight against GBVF.
“We believe that working together as a society, we can defeat the scourge of gender-based violence.
“We believe that we can a achieve a South Africa free from gender-based violence directed at women, children and LGBTQIA+ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual] persons,” Kubayi said. – SAnews.gov.za
