It was at the first Presidential Summit on GBV and Femicide in 2018 that we collectively made a firm commitment to the nation to undertake a comprehensive, effective, and united response to gender- based violence and femicide. We agreed to develop a National Strategic Plan to guide our national response, to coordinate the various sectors involved in the fight against GBV, to strengthen the state’s response, and to align the efforts of government, the private sector and civil society. We decided to embark on a number of interventions to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide in our country. WE CAME UP WITH A PLAN
The first step was the development of a GBVF Emergency Response Action Plan in 2019. I requested Parliament’s presiding officers to call a special joint sitting of both houses of Parliament to announce the action plan. The plan was embraced by members of Parliament representing all political parties. This was a significant moment in that GBVF was seen as a non-partisan matter on which all political parties demonstrated their preparedness to act together to address this scourge. This was followed by the release in April 2020 of the National Strategic Plan, which had been carefully drawn up together with civil society.
“The first pandemic in South Africa.”
Dec 2022| Collective Action Magazine
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