Mapaballo Borotho
- South African women turned social media purple this weekend to demand that gender-based violence be declared a national disaster.
- The #WomenForChange movement is organising a nationwide march on 21 November to highlight the devastating impact of GBVF.
- Activists urge all women and LGBTQ+ members to withdraw from work for a day to show the country’s reliance on them and call for urgent government action.
Social media platforms are painted in purple this weekend as a way to declare Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) a pandemic in South Africa.
Violence against women, children and members of the LGBTQ community is widely described and treated as a pandemic and a national crisis in the country due to its acute prevalence and devastating impact on the population.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has referred to it as a second pandemic after COVID-19, highlighting the severe and ongoing nature of the issue.
While South Africa has made strides to improve the lives of its women, violence perpetrated against women in the country remains a grave concern.
A report released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) earlier this year revealed that GBV crimes have increased. Between July and September 2024, 957 women were murdered, 1,567 survived attempted murders, and 14,366 experienced assaults resulting in grievous bodily harm. In addition, 10,191 rapes were reported.
The HSRC survey also showed that a third (33.1%) of South African women over the age of 18 have experienced physical violence in their lifetime.
The purple profile pictures across social media platforms, an idea driven by the gender-based violence activist group #WomenForChange, symbolise women standing in solidarity with those who have suffered abuse, those who lost their lives to violence, and those who cannot escape abusive circumstances.
The activists have called on all South African women to participate in a march to silence the nation and show the world how prevalent GBV is in the country.
“We call on all women and members of the LGBTQ community across South Africa to refrain from all paid and unpaid work in workplaces, universities, homes, and communities to demonstrate the economic and social impact of their absence. We demand that GBVF be declared a national disaster now,” the organisation said.
The march is set to take place on 21 November, just a few days before the 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse campaign.
The march will also happen just before G20 leaders meet in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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