Name: South Africans rally to end gender violence as femicide reaches a high
Uploaded: 2025-12-01T18:09:43.460Z
Duration: 2 min 43 s
Description: South Africa declares gender violence a national disaster as protests demand action over femicide rates five times the global average.

South Africa declares gender violence a national disaster as protests demand action over femicide rates five times the global average.

Johannesburg

Large-scale protests took place across South Africa in response to a significant rise in femicide and gender-based violence, which activists say is now more than five times the global average. Demonstrators criticized the government for failing to effectively implement existing policies and called for tangible resources, better police training, and accountability for perpetrators.

On the eve of the protests, the president declared gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster and pledged extraordinary action. Police statistics revealed that over 5,500 women were murdered in a year, with more than 100 rapes reported daily, though experts believe most cases go unreported. Protesters, led by the NGO Women for Change, demanded urgent and meaningful change.

South Africans rally to end gender violence as femicide reaches a high

They came to bring South Africa to a standstill, to have their silence speak volumes for those whose voices have been cut short. Protesters say South Africa's women and children are under siege, with levels of violence against women more than five times the global average. They say the country doesn't lack policies or appropriate legislation, there's just poor implementation. And I just would like some sort of follow through on the promises that get made. I would like resources that actually matter and make a difference dedicated to the struggle. I would like police that are trained properly. I would like rapists and murderers who actually end up in court and then end up behind bars. Our president and his leaders have been saying to us for the past years, it's a pandemic, it's a crisis, it's this, it's that. Talk, talk, talk, no implementation. It's a crisis. South Africa's president declared gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster on the eve of the protests. We have agreed among all social partners that we need to take extraordinary and concerted action, using every means at our disposal to end this crisis. Women for Change is an NGO that spearheaded the nationwide protests, their activism spurred on by a nearly 34 percent increase in femicide rates. But what does the declaration now change? I think on a high level promise, it is admission of the magnitude of the issue that we've been trying to get across. It also puts kind of our president's head on a chopping block because he's admitted both to the local citizens as well as to the rest of the world that this is a big issue and he will be addressing it. So I think there's pressure coming from both sides. Experts knew the world's media was watching South Africa and used the recent G20 Leaders Summit to amplify calls for change. The police statistics show that over the period of a year, more than 5,500 women were murdered in South Africa. That's 15 women on average killed every single day. And as for rape, there were more than 100 cases reported to police daily. And experts say it's a crime underreported by as much as 95 percent. The women of South Africa turned up in their numbers. The protests, a symbol of the fear, anxiety and anger at the levels of violence women endure. But also a call for courage in the continuing fight for justice. Michael Appel, Al Jazeera, Johannesburg.

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