Cde Reneilwe Pholwane (9 minutes)
The NCGBVF is a statutory body that was signed into law on the 24th of May 2024. It has a responsibility of providing leadership in preventing GBVF in South Africa. This is a multi-sectoral council which gathers different stakeholders, the civil society, labour and business to strengthen the government efforts in fighting GBV using an approach that is inclusive and better resourced. This council will ensure that women’s rights are prioritized and there is not distorting in the policies and programmes that are intended to achieve a society where there is equality.
The NCGBVF had a mandate to establish a Board of Council which will be inclusive of the public and the private sector. The Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has currently approved and advert to invite the public to nominate people to serve in the board. The nominated people will go through a shortlisting process, interview process then recommendations will be made to the president for appointment.
This council has a complimentary role with the Commission for Gender Equality, however, there is a distinction between these two entities. The NGBVF is responsible for providing strategic leadership in preventing GBVF and the Commission for Gender Equality promotes and evaluates gender equality through legislative initiatives.
Teenage pregnancy and statutory rape are the major contributors to the violation of women’s rights and GBVF. The latest recorded statistics on teenage pregnancy show that there is an estimation of 150 000 girls between the age group of 10 and 19 years who fell pregnant in the year 2022/2023 and some of them became mothers before reaching their teenage stage and that amounts to statutory rape for those who are below the age of 16.
The recent developments on the establishment and implementation of the NCGBVF Act brings hope that there will be more efforts with a legislative mandate to help fight GBVF.
Traditional authorities also odd to place a bigger role in ensuring the fight against GBVF because many cases which are not officially reported take place in areas that have traditional authorities. We note and appreciate the support that was pledged by CONTRALESA in 2023 to fight against GBVF. The collaboration of the Parliament with the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders(NHTL) and other departments to establish the Men’s parliament in order to tackle GBVF and end some cultural practices that prejudiced against women is also amongst the efforts that show the seriousness of government in fighting GBVF and we believe that all these efforts need to be strengthened for better results.