South Africa declares gender violence a national disaster after protests

South Africa declared violence against women a national disaster on Friday, following an online campaign that resulted in nationwide protests.

Women were called to “withdraw from the economy for a day” and lie down for 15 minutes at 12:00 local time in memory of the 15 women killed every day in the country.

The state refused to make the classification but changed its stance after “assessing the persistent and immediate life safety risks posed by ongoing acts of violence.”

According to UN Women, South Africa experiences some of the highest levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in the world; The murder rate of women is five times the global average.

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa said the National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) classified GBV and femicide as a disaster following “a comprehensive re-evaluation of previous reports and updated notifications from state bodies as well as civil organisations”.

The NDMC had earlier said the calls for declarations did not meet legal requirements.

Warning: This report contains descriptions of sexual assault

On Friday, “layovers” took place in 15 locations in South Africa, including major cities such as Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

Allies in Eswatini, Kenya and Namibia also said they joined the protest, expressing their support.

Demonstrators wore black as a sign of “mourning and resistance”.

The protest, called the G20 Women’s Shutdown, was organized by Women for Change, which also spearheaded the online campaign in which many people, including celebrities, changed their social media profile pictures to purple, a color often associated with GBV awareness.

An online petition was also created, signed by more than a million people.

On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the G20 Social Summit: South Africa “declared gender-based violence and femicide a national crisis” in 2019.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Hlabisa confirmed that the situation had been turned into a national disaster and an announcement would be made on Friday, according to Women for Change.

The organization released a statement on its Instagram page on Thursday welcoming the news, telling its followers that “we won” and that their “determination was appreciated.”

“We wrote history together [and] “We finally forced the country to face the facts,” he said.

The declaration allows the government to strengthen support for existing gender-based violence and femicide response structures, implement emergency regulations and “ensure that all necessary mechanisms are activated.” [it] Effective management of disaster”.

Before the announcement, Women for Change spokesperson Cameron Kasambala told the BBC that “a lot of good laws and legislation” had been followed by a “lack of implementation and transparency” on the part of the government.

“We have integrated violence into our culture [and] “It goes against our social norms,” ​​he said.

“When the government actually responds to this problem, I think we’ll see a response on the ground as well. Because they set the precedent and the tone for how the country will respond.”

Grammy-winning singer Tyla is among thousands of celebrities and citizens who supported the call and changed their social media profiles. Some went further, posting images of purple hearts, nail polish, and even clothing, which has since been dubbed the “purple movement.”

A South African professor, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that he had received permission from the Free State to travel to Johannesburg to join the silent protest.

This is important to him because he said he has second thoughts about simple things like running and hopes the protest will “slow down the scourge” of GBV.

However, some women’s desire to participate in the protest was met with reaction from employers. A product designer working on a major collaboration said they were strongly advised not to participate.

Feeling that the government was not doing enough, some women took matters into their own hands.

Lynette Oxeley founded Girls on Fire to help women protect themselves by owning guns. It is legal to own a firearm for self-defense in South Africa if a person has a valid licence.

Many of the women in her group were raped, assaulted, robbed, or subjected to some form of violence.

Prudence joined the group in 2022 after being raped.

Speaking to the BBC, the woman said, “I said ‘No’. I screamed and cried, but he didn’t take no for an answer.”

Trying to find justice was “an uphill battle” because her case was withdrawn because the rape kit (the DNA they took after the crime) was lost.

He said this was not a police problem but a nation’s problem.

Although women are trained to fire a firearm, Ms Oxeley said using a gun was a “last resort”.

“This isn’t really about defending yourself with a firearm. I want women to change the way they think about themselves. Stop being silent,” she said.

“Even if you can’t win the fight, at least you’re fighting back.”