Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has called for the revision of the country’s laws related to Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) to ensure they harshly address persistent abuse of women and children in the country.Hlabisa welcomed the decision by the Head of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), Dr. Bongani Elias Sithole, to classify GBVF as a national disaster in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002.
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) said that after evaluating the persistent and immediate life-safety risks posed by ongoing acts of violence, it concluded that GBVF now meets the threshold of a potential disaster as defined in the Act.Hlabisa, who was speaking on YOU FM Newshour said that the decision is an outcome of the involvement and engagement with key sectors in the society who are broadly women and affected by violence.
“Having looked at the figures involved because in every three hours there’s a woman who is killed and over 100 women are reportedly raped throughout the country.We agreed with the head of the NDMC that lets us intensify the fight against GBVF by classifying it as a national disaster,” said Hlabisa.
South Africa is known to have some of the most progressive legislation in relation to GBVF, with domestic violence Act, sexual offences Act and the 2022 amendments as some of the examples of existing laws, but low implementation rate.Hlabisa has called for a coordinated effort to fight GBVF and for every sector of the society to be involved in curbing the scourge.
“Yesterday evening, I convened a first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Disaster Management which included Ministers, Premiers and MEC’s of COGTA from all the nine provinces.I called on all of them to activate their department and look at the budget to reprioritize the financial resources we have to direct them towards the fight against GBVF,” remarked the minister.
Hlabisa also welcomed the decision as it coincided with the 2025 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign in Midrand in the country.
“This happens at the relevant time as we launched today 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, calling on all South Africans and all of government approach, the church, traditional leaders as we did during the COVID-19 and spaza shop foodborne illness which was killing our people and we brought it to an end,” explained Hlabisa.
Furthermore, the minister called for the intensification of the law and a severe prison sentence for GBVF reoffenders.“There’s a need for a swift response or speed in terms of people who have been arrested on GBVF offences in terms of prosecuting them and imposing harsher sentences on them. It takes too long to happen. Secondly, we need to revisit our laws in terms of perpetrators,” said Hlabisa.
The minister also stressed that perpetrators must face the full wrath of the law and given long sentences.
“There are constant perpetrators of GBVF offences, they get bail now and again and continue with this bad behaviour with some released after completing their prison sentences only for them to return to their societies to re-offend again. We need to intensify the law in terms of people who were prosecuted and guilty of killing, raping women or a child must be given a life sentence without an option of parole so that we removed them completely from the society,” concluded Hlabisa.
