The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has rejected calls from advocacy group Women For Change (WFC) to have gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) declared a national disaster, saying the crisis does not fall within the legal definition of a disaster as outlined in the Disaster Management Act (DMA).
“GBVF cannot reasonably and rationally be regarded as a disaster,” wrote NDMC head Dr Elias Sithole in a letter to the organisation.
The NDMC, which falls under the department of co-operative governance, said it had considered the WFC petition and concluded that the act did not allow for GBVF to be classified as a national disaster.
The petition has been amassed and signed by more than 957,000 people.
Sithole said the centre reached its decision after consultations with the department of women, youth and persons with disabilities and a review of the Disaster Management Act.
“Following consultation with the DWYPD and after careful consideration of the application of the DMA as set out in section 2 of the Act, I have concluded in terms of the powers afforded to me as Head of the NDMC by section 23 of the DMA that GBVF cannot reasonably and rationally be regarded as a disaster in terms of the DMA and therefore cannot be classified as a disaster or be declared a state of disaster,” said Sithole.
According to the constitution, a disaster is defined as a “natural or human-caused occurrence that causes disease, damage to property, infrastructure or the environment, or disruption of the life of a community.”
The national executive is “primarily responsible” for co-ordinating recovery measures, and cabinet ministers may use existing legislation to respond.
A disaster declaration allows the government to release emergency resources, regulate movement, provide emergency housing and even control the sale of alcohol.
Section 37 of the constitution further allows a state of emergency to be declared only when “the life of the nation is threatened by war, invasion, insurrection, disorder, natural disaster or other public emergency” and when the declaration is necessary to restore peace and order.
Sithole stressed that while the NDMC recognises the devastating impact of GBVF, the act was not intended to address deep-rooted social issues.
“Whilst the NDMC is also deeply concerned about the ongoing scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, the NDMC must also recognise that the National Strategic Plan on GBVF and various legislative instruments were developed and amended since 2018 to urgently and in a co-ordinated action, begin to restore the dignity, safety, and equality in society,” said Sithole.
“I recognise that GBVF is a devastating violation of human dignity, and I maintain that we must stand together in compassion and work closer together as government and civil society. However, the DMA was not enacted to deal with ingrained societal vulnerabilities that can best be addressed in a sustainable manner through the optimisation of existing mechanisms,” said Sithole.
Women For Change said it was “deeply disappointed and insulted” by the government’s rejection, accusing authorities of being detached from the brutal reality South African women face daily.
“The South African government claims that GBV can’t be declared a national disaster because there are frameworks in place. But these are the very frameworks that have failed us,” said the organisation.
“We are deeply disappointed and frankly insulted by a response so far removed from the brutal reality that women in South Africa face every single day,” it said.
The group pointed to a series of failures within existing structures, including the National Strategic Plan on GBVF, which they say has produced little measurable impact despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s R21bn commitment made during the 2019 presidential summit on GBVF.
“Five years later, there is no transparency. No public record exists showing how much of the R21bn has been spent, where the money has gone, or what impact it has had,” said WFC.
The organisation said that there are no annual public reports, no accessible budget breakdowns and no evidence that the NSP has delivered on its promises.
Women For Change said it was unacceptable for the government to label GBVF as anything less than a national emergency when 5,578 women were murdered in just one year — a 33.8% increase from the previous year.
They cited other failures including delays in making the National Register for Sex Offenders public and the absence of official reports from the GBV 90-Day blitz conducted earlier this year.
“This is not a functioning system. This is a national crisis, and it deserves to be treated as one,” said WFC.
Thousands of women have flooded social media with purple pictures to support the cause.
“The purple profile pictures flooding South Africa and the world are not a trend. They are a movement of women, survivors, and allies determined to change the way forward — a visual roar of defiance reminding those in power that we will not stop until our government listens,” said WFC.
In protest, the organisation has called for a national shutdown on November 21, coinciding with the G20 summit.
WFC has urged women and members of the LGBTQI+ community to “withdraw their power” by refraining from all paid and unpaid work for a day.
Thousands of South Africans have already turned their social media profiles purple in solidarity, using the colour to symbolise strength, justice and remembrance.
“The world is watching, and finally, the entire nation leaders, celebrities, influencers, churches, businesses, and politicians are standing together to say: ‘Enough is enough,’” said WFC.
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