Men challenged to lead fight against GBV

As the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign came to an end, the government challenged men to take the lead in tackling gender-based violence (GBV) in the country on Thursday.

“Men must lead by speaking out against GBV and reporting it to law enforcement agents. They must also raise awareness and engage in peer education and efforts to prevent GBV,” minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele said.

This year, the campaign which comes to an end on Friday was observed under the theme “The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke – 16 Days of Activism – Moving from Awareness to Accountability”.

Gungubele also noted that it remained a “disturbing reality” that more still needed to be done to eradicate GBV in society when he briefed the media about the outcomes of a cabinet meeting held a day earlier, on Wednesday.

“Many harrowing GBV-related stories, including the loss of lives, have been reported during this period and throughout the entire extended 365 Days campaign. We are failing as a nation when the cries of the most vulnerable in our society remain unheard or ignored.

“The irresponsible societal norms which validate the violence behaviour of men and the tendency to victimise women who break their silence must stop,” he said.

Speaking about what the government was doing to improve its response to sexual offences and gender-based violence, Gungubele said the government was moving towards introducing statutory sexual offences courts.

This was said to follow after the re-establishment of 106 sexual offences courts across the country.

“In February 2020, Section 55A of the criminal law (sexual offences and related matters) amendment act was signed into operation, meaning that for the first time sexual offences courts will now be established in accordance with a statute,” he said.

“Section 55A of the act empowers the minister of justice and correctional services to designate, not only a selected regional court, but also any division of the high court, as a sexual offences court.”

Gungubele said the cabinet, in its entirety, urged all sectors of society to collaborate with the government to create safer communities and protect victims of abuse.

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“It will only change if we all act and the time to act is now,” he said.

The annual campaign marked its 30th anniversary this year.

All GBV-related incidents could be reported to the police or either the national GBV command centre on 0800 428 428 or the Stop Gender Violence helpline on 0800 150 150 or *120*7867#.

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