Those were direct words of President Cyril Ramaphosa press statement on the 9th of August last year as he was explaining the government plan of enforcing women rights to protection and combating GBV.
According to President Ramaphosa, the South African government is aware that millions of South African women still live in conditions of poverty and unemployment. They face discrimination and violence.
In a bid to address this problem, earlier this year President launched Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund 1.
As part of making sure that Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund 1 achieve its mission target, the government, in partnership with the international women’s forum and social partners that raised 128 million.
”To give effect to our commitment to the upliftment of women, South Africa has joined Generation Equality, a global campaign to achieve gender equality by 2030…
As part of this campaign, we are part of two Action Coalitions, one on economic justice and rights and another on gender-based violence and femicide.” said President Ramaphosa
With all these government promises, plans and funding, many women and GBV advocacy organizations have yet to benefit.
Cape Town-based rape survivors June Major and Celesthea Pierang have taken it upon themselves to force powers that be to implement their talk. The duo does this through a rape awareness roadshow from Cape Town to Makhanda.
While talking to JHR in Plettenberg Bay Major said she doesn’t believe that government promises and plans will come to existence as soon and that is why she decided to fundraise and build her own rape crises centre.
”I know that government has always claimed that they have plans and budget that geared at fighting GBV. Besides those speeches and plans on paper, nothing meaningful gets achieved.
It is exactly for that reason that Pierang and I together decided to launch this ‘‘Walk On My Shoes” awareness campaign for rape survivors in Cape Town.
Through the Walk On My Shoes” we aim to increase the number of shelters and care centre’s for survivors”said Major
Other sectors of South African society believe that Major and Pierang impatient pleas to that state are justifiable because despite the fact that the government raised 128 million GBV fighting fund, the Police ministry statistics on rape for 2020/2021, approximately 10 006 people were raped between April and June 2021.
Eight months later, still, there is no clarity where 128 million GBV fighting fund
has been used for and despite after the government claimed that it has seen’ ‘an opportunity to build a country in which women’s right to dignity, security, safety and protection is non-negotiable.’ – still nothing has been done
