Thousands Rally Against Violence Toward Women

Demonstrations against gender-based violence took place across South Africa on Friday, responding to a nationwide call from the Purple Movement. The protests coincided with the start of the G20 summit hosted by South Africa.

Classification as a National Disaster

The National Disaster Management Centre has classified gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide as a national disaster under the Disaster Management Act. Bongani Elias Sithole, head of the centre, made the declaration. Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa welcomed the decision, stating that the ongoing violence meets the threshold of a potential disaster as defined by the Act. He clarified that this classification does not invoke emergency powers but reinforces existing systems.

Women for Change and the G20 Shutdown

Women for Change, founded in 2016, organized the demonstrations and called for a “G20 Women’s Shutdown.” This involved women and members of the LGBT+ community refraining from all paid and unpaid work and spending no money for the entire day to highlight the economic and social impact of their absence. The movement also launched a petition to have GBV and femicide declared a national disaster.

The petition outlines a series of actions the government should take, including judicial and legislative reforms, funding for the national strategic plan on GBV and femicide, full implementation of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill, public access to a national sex offenders register, and mandatory education and awareness campaigns.

Protests Across the Country

Demonstrations were held in multiple cities. In Cape Town, participants gathered on the Sea Point promenade, with a silent lie-down held for 15 minutes at noon. Johannesburg saw a gathering at Constitutional Hill Precinct, where protesters wore black, read victim’s names, and participated in a “lie in.”

At Stellenbosch University, a G20 Women’s Shutdown was held at Rooiplein, with LLB student Malaika Ngwenya stating the aim was to show perpetrators that victims are not alone. Hundreds of women in Durban gathered at south beach, chanting “Wathinta bafazi wathinta imbokodo” (You strike the women you strike a rock).

East London protestors gathered outside the City Hall and marched to Baby-Lee Recreational Park. Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality staff and members of the public demonstrated outside City Hall in Gqeberha.

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