02/09/2026
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ILITHA LABANTU RAISES CONCERNS OVER DELAYS IN OPERATIONALISING THE NATIONAL GBVF COUNCIL
Ilitha Labantu is concerned by the lengthy delays in establishing and operationalising the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, particularly as its inaugural meeting was only held in the final days of Women’s Month.
The Council was established to provide strategic leadership and strengthen coordination and accountability in South Africa’s response to gender-based violence and femicide. However, given the scale of the crisis and the years that have passed since the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide was introduced, the fact that the Council is only now becoming operational should not be treated as an achievement in itself.
South Africa has had policies, legislation and commitments aimed at addressing GBVF for years. The challenge has never simply been the absence of frameworks. The challenge has been implementation, coordination, accountability and ensuring that those responsible for responding to GBVF have the resources and capacity to do so effectively.
This is why the priorities emerging from the Council’s inaugural meeting, including the development of a costing framework, the identification of resource gaps and the strengthening of accountability, are important but not new. These are challenges that civil society organisations and those working directly with survivors have been raising for years.
We are also concerned about the timing of the inaugural meeting, coming in the final days of Women’s Month. Addressing the scourge of GBV requires a 365-day approach. Violence against women is a daily occurrence, and it requires a certain level of urgency and sensitivity in order for it to be properly addressed. The response to GBV cannot only become a priority during Women’s Month or the 16 Days of Activism while women and children continue to experience violence every day.
The question is therefore not simply whether the Council has now been established. The question is whether its establishment will make a meaningful difference to the people who continue to experience violence and to the organisations and institutions responsible for responding to them.
One of the most serious challenges in South Africa’s response to GBVF remains the lack of adequate and sustainable resources, particularly for organisations providing direct support to survivors and vulnerable communities. NGOs and community-based organisations continue to provide essential psychosocial support, prevention programmes, referrals and other critical services, often while operating under significant financial pressure.
When these organisations are forced to reduce their services or close because of financial constraints, the impact is felt most severely in under-resourced communities where access to support is already limited. For many people, particularly those living in townships and rural areas, community-based and civil society organisations are often among the first places they turn when they need assistance.
The Council’s proposed costing framework must therefore do more than identify where funding gaps exist. The gaps have been evident for years. It must provide a clear understanding of what is required to properly fund the response to GBVF and ensure that resources are directed to the services and communities where they are needed most.
However, the challenges extend beyond funding. Survivors continue to encounter institutions that are not always adequately equipped to respond with the urgency, sensitivity and competence required. A survivor-centred response cannot simply exist in policy. It must be reflected in the way survivors are treated when they report cases, seek medical assistance, access support services and attempt to navigate the criminal justice system.
This requires continued investment in strengthening the capacity of the police, healthcare professionals, social service practitioners and others responsible for responding to GBVF. Those responsible for supporting and protecting survivors must be adequately equipped with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to do so effectively.
The criminal justice system is particularly important in this regard. Survivors continue to face significant barriers to justice, while the low number of successful prosecutions remains a serious concern. It is not enough to announce arrests or point to existing structures if cases are not properly investigated, evidence is not adequately collected or perpetrators are ultimately not held accountable.
The entire process must be examined. Are survivors receiving the necessary support when they report cases? Are police officers adequately equipped to respond? Is evidence being properly collected and preserved? Are investigations being conducted effectively? Are cases reaching the courts? Are perpetrators being successfully prosecuted?
These are not simply procedural questions. Failures at any point in the process can have devastating consequences for survivors and can contribute to a culture in which perpetrators continue to act with impunity.
The same level of scrutiny must be applied to the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF. Government departments and other sectors cannot continue making commitments without being held accountable for whether those commitments are actually being implemented.
There must be clearly defined responsibilities, measurable targets and specific timelines. It must be possible to determine what each department and sector has committed to doing, what progress has been made and where implementation is failing. Where commitments are not being met, there must be accountability and corrective action.
Civil society organisations and communities must also form part of this process. Those working directly with survivors are often the first to identify where systems are failing and where gaps continue to exist. Their experience and understanding of what is happening on the ground must inform the national response.
At the same time, civil society cannot continue to be expected to fill the gaps left by the state without adequate and sustainable support. A genuinely multi-sectoral response requires government, civil society, communities and the private sector to work together, with each sector properly equipped to fulfil its responsibilities.
The Council's effectiveness must ultimately be measured by what changes. Will survivors have better access to support? Will organisations providing frontline services receive the funding they need to continue their work? Will the institutions responsible for responding to GBVF become better equipped? Will government departments be held accountable when they fail to fulfil their commitments? Will survivors have greater access to justice, and will perpetrators be held accountable?
These are the questions that should guide the Council's work. The number of meetings it convenes or reports it produces cannot be used as the measure of its success. Within its first year, there should be clear evidence that the longstanding gaps which have been identified are being addressed. Resources should be directed where they are most needed, institutions should be strengthened, and there should be greater accountability across all sectors involved in the response to GBVF.
The establishment of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide does not, in itself, solve the crisis. It now has to demonstrate that it can address the failures that have persisted for years.
Ilitha Labantu remains committed to advocating for the rights and protection of women and children and to working with communities and relevant stakeholders to address gender-based violence. However, survivors and communities cannot afford another structure that identifies problems without having the authority, resources and mechanisms necessary to address them. The real measure of the Council will be whether it contributes to meaningful improvements in the lives of those experiencing violence.
Media Enquiries:
Siyabulela Monakali
Communications Manager
Ilitha Labantu
Civil-society organisations are challenging South Africa’s new GBVF council to turn its first plans into measurable funding, accountability and survivor support.
