On 25 May 2025, we received a formal response from the Honourable Sindisiwe Chikunga, Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, to the memorandum and petition that Women For Change handed over at the Union Buildings on 11 April 2025, supported by more than 150,000 people across South Africa. The response included:
– A letter from Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga (click here to read)
– A copy of our original list of demands (click here to read)
– Annexure 1: Departmental responses from Justice, Correctional Services, Social Development, Treasury, Education, and others (click here to read)
We acknowledge the correspondence and are currently reviewing it with our team and legal representatives. We commit to issuing a formal reply to the Minister in the coming days. But there is something I cannot wait to say: The government has failed to respond to our most critical and urgent demand – the declaration of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide as a National Disaster.
This is a devastating signal that our government still does not treat the slaughter, rape, abuse and trauma of women and children as an emergency. As the Founder of Women For Change and as someone who has stood shoulder to shoulder with thousands of survivors and grieving families for nearly a decade – I have to say this with a heavy heart but unwavering clarity: Once again, there is no sense of urgency, no emergency footing, and no coordinated crisis response.
Demand-by-Demand Feedback
1. Judicial and Legislative Reforms
What WFC demanded:
– No bail for GBVF perpetrators
– Life imprisonment without parole for rape, femicide, child sexual abuse and murder
– Disciplinary action against negligent officials
What the government said: They cite bail reforms from the 2021 Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Act, which prohibits police bail in cases involving rape, femicide, and domestic violence. They also reference improved parole procedures, including mandatory risk assessments for offenders, and claim that training is being provided to police officers, judges, and magistrates.
Our response: From a survivor’s perspective, this response feels disconnected from lived reality. WFC receives daily reports of survivors re-traumatised by the justice system, with rapists, abusers, and murderers walking free on bail or reoffending while out on parole. The law may exist on paper since 2021, but its application is inconsistent and dangerously flawed. There is also no mention of our call for life sentences without parole for serial rapists, child murderers, and femicide offenders.
2. Funding the National Strategic Plan on GBVF
What WFC demanded:
– Immediate funding of the NSP GBVF
– Urgent implementation of the GBVF Council
What the government said: They announced that proposals for funding the National Strategic Plan on GBVF have been submitted, but full implementation remains pending and is dependent on the availability of funds. They acknowledge the urgent need for increased support for shelters, legal aid, and counselling services but offer no clear timelines or guarantees.
Our response: The response acknowledges the funding crisis but offers no solution beyond stating it is “subject to the availability of funds.” This is not good enough! Survivors cannot wait for the next budget cycle. Shelters are closing. Victims are being turned away. Legal and psychological services are under-resourced. Like many other organisations at the forefront, Women For Change has never received one cent of funding from the Government.
This is not a planning issue. This is a moral emergency, where you ignore the fifteen murdered women every day.
3. Public Access to the National Sex Offenders Register (NSOR)
What WFC demanded:
– Full public access to the NSOR
– Inclusion of all GBVF offenders, including domestic violence cases
What the government said: The NSOR now includes all convicted sex offenders but remains confidential and restricted to vetted employers. Broader access is being “considered.”
Our response: This response is inadequate. Survivors and communities have the right to know who poses a threat to their safety. A hidden register does not protect, it silences and endangers. Transparency is not a privilege; it is a necessity for survival. Survivors are often left with no choice but to speak out publicly to be believed, without the protection of anonymity, while their perpetrators are shielded by confidentiality. This imbalance is not only unjust but also dangerous. It protects the offender, not the public.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi publicly committed to publishing the National Sex Offenders Register in February 2025. So where is the progress? Where is the action? Where is the accountability? We demand more than promises.
4. Education and Awareness
What WFC demanded:
– Gender-based violence education to be mandatory in schools
– 365-Days public awareness campaigns
What the government said: Ongoing collaborations are mentioned, but implementation is unclear and insufficient. They referenced collaborations with the Department of Education and pending campaigns and that GBV content is being considered in education strategies.
Our response: Change cannot come from scattered initiatives or short-term campaigns. Education is a form of prevention, and prevention must be systemic. Just recently, a GBV campaign was launched by the KZN government, accompanied by a deeply harmful and re-traumatising statement. And yet, this has not been addressed or condemned. This is why we need comprehensive, mandatory GBVF education embedded across all schools, starting from a young age.
We are not calling for occasional awareness days such as ‘16 Days of Activism’. We are calling for a national, coordinated education strategy- one with clear outcomes, measurable impact, and proper implementation plans. Anything less is a failure to protect the next generation. Until GBVF education is prioritised in curriculums, homes and culture, we are not doing enough, and our children will continue to pay the price.
The Silence on the Declaration of a National Disaster
Our petition and public demonstration centred around one clear, urgent demand: Declare Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) a National Disaster. This is the only way to unlock the emergency funding, coordination, and urgency required to save lives.
Yet the Minister’s letter and the departmental annexures make no mention of this demand. Not one word. Instead, just five days after our demonstration, the government launched a so-called “90-Day GBVF Blitz”, promising swift interventions. But now, at the halfway mark, there are no implementation details, no measurable results, and no visible corrective actions. We have seen no changes on the ground. No impact. No information. No accountability.
This is not just a response from a GBV organisation. This is a statement from a woman who has read thousands of messages from survivors. From a team that sits with the grief of families who’ve buried daughters, sisters, and mothers.From women who continue to show up – when their government does not.
And last, President Cyril Ramaphosa, where are you in all of this? The women of this country are being raped, murdered, and silenced every day – yet the one man with the constitutional power to declare GBVF a National Disaster has said nothing.
Our petition, with now more than 160,000 signatures and our memorandum were addressed to the President of this country, and we have heard nothing from him in return. Since last Women’s Day, there has been no meaningful public recognition of the ongoing war against women and children. No action. No urgency. No leadership. We cannot continue with “business as usual” while women and children are being brutalised, failed, and forgotten – every single day.
To every survivor: You are not alone. We carry this fight with you and for you.
To every supporter: Thank you for standing with us.
To our leaders: We are watching. The country is watching. And we will continue to Unbury the Truth.
Read the official statement here.
Watch our The Unburied Casket campaign here.
#DeclareGBVFANationalDisaster #WomenForChange #UnburyTheTruth