The Executive Director for United Nations (UN) Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says it’s worrisome that perpetrators of violence against women are getting younger, while the crimes committed are more gruesome.
Mlambo-Ngcuka says the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) needs all hands on deck.
She was speaking at the 30th anniversary of Cape Town-based gender violence NGO, Ilitha Labantu.
The former Deputy President of South Africa says the UN is closely monitoring the escalating violent incidents against women.
She says funds are needed to eliminate the scourge.
“My own team, United Nations system have women, which are also part of the process of accompanying the implementation of the emergency plan, which is so much needed because it gives us time-frames within which to focus on specific aspects of gender-based violence that are unique to some extent to South Africa,” says Mlambo Ngcuka.
South Africa has one of the highest gender-based violence rates in the world.
Government has declared the issue a national crisis.
According to a 2018 Statistics SA report, a woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa.
