Tensions are high at the second Presidential Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Summit in Midrand, in the north of Johannesburg, as activists lash out at government for the high levels of violence against women and children.
The summit aims to reflect on the work undertaken since the 2018 Summit, provide feedback and create a space for accountability in eradicating what President Cyril Ramaphosa has labelled a pandemic.
Activists at Gallagher Estate, the venue for the summit, are tearing into government officials for not doing enough for tackle gender-based violence and femicide and protect survivors
This happened just before President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address stakeholders who have gathered to find solutions to the scourge.
At the height of the COVID19, President Ramaphosa termed the scourge a pandemic as women across the country were forced to be at home due to lockdown restrictions and some having to live with their abusers. Despite the first summit being held almost five years ago, the country still faces high levels of violence against women and children.
Below is the live stream from the summit:
Earlier, the National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shamila Batohi conceded that the criminal justice system is not able to solve the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa.
Batohi called for a multi-sectoral approach to the GBV.
Over 800 women and close to 250 children were killed in South Africa from April to June this year.
Batohi says it’s time to look beyond the criminal justice system.
“I also want to make it very clear that the criminal justice system is not going to solve this problem. We’ve got to look beyond the criminal justice system, we’ve got to look at our communities, we’ve got to look at why do men in society, South African men, commit these offences, not just against women but against children as well.”
