GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND COLLABORATION
By Professor Corné Davis University of Johannesburg
The topic of gender-based violence has received much more attention over recent years following a number of catalytic cases and events that sparked a public outcry in South Africa in particular, but also globally, with specific reference to the Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein cases. The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the already precarious challenges faced by GBV stakeholders in South Africa, particularly those of the victims. In spite of the publication of the NSP on GBVF and the subsequent establishment of the six pillar working groups as part of the strategic plan to end GBVF, media reports reveal troubling statistics. One of the most alarming figures is that of 934 children who gave birth, some as young as 10 and 11 years old, soon after the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. The staggering picture painted by this figure makes it evident that significant progress in successfully intervening in GBV and particularly violence against children and child rape has not yet been made.
16 | Collective Action Magazine
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