Why GBV needs more than a 16-day campaign
Gender-based Violence
The devastating impact of GBV in the country was the catalyst for an extraordinary public mobilisation on the eve of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, where thousands took to the streets in solidarity with GBV victims and survivors.
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AS South Africa marks the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the National Shelter Movement of SA (NSMSA) is calling for a radical shift — from symbolic gestures to sustained, systemic change.
Representing roughly 100 GBV shelters and safe houses nationwide, the NSMSA issued a key reminder: “GBV in South Africa cannot be treated as a 16–day campaign when we are living through a 365–day emergency.”
This year’s global campaign theme, UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls, resonates deeply in a country where digital abuse is escalating across all communities. “Ending GBV now requires protecting people both offline and online,” NSMSA said, echoing the Letsema call for unity and the G20 vision of collective responsibility. “But we cannot afford another year of symbolic gestures and empty promises.”
The urgency comes in the wake of a powerful public mobilisation just before the G20 Leaders’ Summit, when thousands took to the streets in solidarity with GBV survivors. “Women stood in their pain, families showed their grief with courage, and communities showed their power,” NSMSA said. Now, the movement poses a direct question to the government: “Will you match that courage with action?”
NSMSA board member Greer Schoeman condemned the persistent gap between political rhetoric and on-the-ground reality. “For many years, shelters have warned that words, however well-intentioned, will not stem the tide of violence and murder,” she said. “But now that President Cyril Ramaphosa has (once again) acknowledged, on such an important stage as the G20 Leaders’ Summit, that GBV is both a national and global crisis, even declaring it as a national disaster, we hope to see all the talk turn into positive and constructive action.”
Schoeman highlighted a cruel irony: While the government declares states of emergency, funding for essential GBV services continues to dwindle. “Majority of these nonprofit organisations receive grants as low as R140 000 a year, with the Department of Social Development (DSD) covering less than 40% of operational costs,” she said. “This funding model is not only unsustainable but profoundly unjust. Shelters are expected to rescue, house, feed and empower survivors, yet they are left to fend for themselves, begging private donors just to keep the lights on and food on the table.”
The consequences are dire. Chronic underfunding, Schoeman said, “entrenches reliance on women’s unpaid and underpaid labour”, placing immense strain on the very people tasked with upholding the state’s constitutional duty to protect the vulnerable.
She pointed to a troubling contradiction: “Last year, Gauteng DSD returned more than half a billion Rand to Treasury, unspent. How can this be allowed to happen when safe houses are literally crumbling for lack of resources?”
NSMSA calls for immediate, concrete steps, starting with a government-led plan, developed in consultation with civil society, to increase financial support for GBV shelters to at least 60% of operational costs. The plan must also include multi-stakeholder collaboration to address capacity building, material shortages, and mental health support for exhausted frontline staff. “Many are constantly on the brink of burnout,” Schoeman noted.
Transparency and accountability are equally non-negotiable. “South Africans also need a full update on the implementation of the Public Protector’s recommendations across the Departments of Justice, Social Development and the SA Police Service (SAPS),” Schoeman said.
“The findings were damning, the recommendations were time-bound, and the 100-day deadline for reporting has long passed. Communities, shelters and survivors are still waiting. Accountability cannot continue to be deferred. Where is the outcomes report? Where is the transparency? We cannot fight a national emergency with missing documents and unanswered questions. Survivors deserve better than silence,” she said.
NSMSA also urged the government to finalise the revised National Strategic Plan on GBV without further delay and establish clear timelines to dismantle policy and implementation barriers that prevent survivors from accessing justice and safety.
“We hear the President’s call for a whole-of-society approach,” Schoeman said. “But, Mr President, civil society always shows up—shelters, activists, community workers, volunteers and the public. But without government (and the private sector and philanthropists) coming with real resources and real accountability, we are fighting a losing battle.”
Her message was unequivocal: “This is not only a call to action for women, it is a call for a society where safety is not a privilege, where violence is never normalised, and where leadership does not fail women and children when they need it most.”
As the 16 Days of Activism unfold, NSMSA’s demand echoes beyond slogans: “We demand more than words. Enough is enough.”