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Nkoana-Mashabane announces Inter-Ministerial Committee for GBV fight

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Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane announced a six minister Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) that will focus on the fight against gender-based violence and femicide.

Nkoana-Mashabane was speaking during a security cluster dialogue on gender-based violence and femicide. The dialogue was held under the theme: “Improving access to justice for the victims and survivors of GBV and Femicide”.

It marks the closure of the 2020 Women’s Month programme and is part of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster’s effort to fight the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide.

Nkoana-Mashabane says the IMC has a strategic plan that needs other role players in implementing. She decried GBV as a second pandemic following COVID-19.

The strategic plan has six pillars.  Six pillars are accountability, coordination, and leadership. Prevention and rebuilding social cohesion, efficient and sensitive criminal justice, adequate care, support, and healing to the victims. Building women’s economic power and financial access. Lastly better information management to inform action,” says Nkoana-Mashabane.

SA women should be able to walk down the streets without fear says Nkoana-Mashabane : 

A call for a united front against GBV 

Speaking during the same dialogue, Police Minister Bheki Cele said that it is everybody’s business to wage war on gender-based violence and femicide.

Cele said all gender-based violence and femicide victims should be able to access the criminal justice system.

“They should access a system that is efficient and sensitive to the needs of survivors while being accessible and responsible. In our response to gender-based violence, femicide, the police are making progress in resourcing specialised units that deal with gender-based violence and femicide cases with both funding and human capital. We have the FCS, that is the family violence and child protection, the sexual offenses unit has trained specialist detectives to investigate gender-based violence.”

Minister Bheki Cele calls on all South Africans to play a role in fighting GBV and femicide: 

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