National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Officially Launched to Accelerate Eradication of GBVF in South Africa

PRETORIA, Gauteng — The National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) has been officially launched, marking a definitive step in South Africa’s efforts to eradicate gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). During the inaugural meeting in Pretoria, Council Chairperson Dr. Lebogang Mathibe Ramalepe and Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, outlined the new statutory body’s mandate to coordinate, monitor, and strengthen the national response across all levels of society.

Dr. Lebogang Mathibe Ramalepe emphasized that the council’s primary role is the elimination, prevention, and response to GBVF at national, provincial, local, and ward levels. She noted that the first 100 days of the council will focus on establishing its constitutional functioning and structures, followed by immediate consultations with civil society organizations already doing groundwork. “We are not going to reinvent the wheel,” Dr. Ramalepe stated, highlighting the importance of collaborating with existing organizations to implement the national action plan effectively.

Addressing the scope of the council’s authority, Dr. Ramalepe clarified that as a statutory body, the NCGBVF holds direct accountability over key role players. Representatives from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the police, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Development, and the Department of Education sit on the council. This structure provides a direct line to these departments, allowing the council to table challenges and demand actionable solutions when systemic fragmentation occurs.

On the critical issue of funding, Dr. Ramalepe confirmed that the council has been allocated a budget for its operational work. However, she stressed that the broader National Strategic Plan (NSP) budget resides within individual government departments. A key marching order for the council is to engage the private sector and developmental agencies to help cost and implement the national action plan, a process that legislation requires to be completed within six months. Currently, beyond the resources housed in the Minister’s office, additional dedicated funding will require active multi-sectoral mobilization.

Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga briefed the media on the outcomes of the inaugural meeting, noting that the operationalization of the council is making great progress. This launch comes less than a year after President Cyril Ramaphosa officially classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster. Minister Chikunga described the council not merely as a new public institution, but as the institutionalization of a national commitment to eradicate one of the gravest human rights violations in democratic South Africa, as mandated by the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Act 9 of 2024.

Emphasizing that government alone cannot solve the crisis, Minister Chikunga highlighted the council’s “whole of society” approach, which includes representation from women’s rights organizations, survivor advocacy groups, and community-based organizations. President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed the council members for a three-year term, running from the 1st of August to the 31st of July 2029. Furthermore, the deputy minister noted that rapid response teams are now being deployed at the local municipal level to ensure reported cases are acted upon swiftly and effectively.

Ultimately, the functioning of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide will focus heavily on oversight, monitoring, and ethical leadership within the criminal justice system. For victims and their families, this coordinated, multisectoral approach is designed to translate into easier access to swift, real, and measurable justice.