On the 4th February 2021, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) participated at the virtual fund-raising event involving the private sector and led by President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. The objective of the initiative was to establish the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) response fund. The CGE applauds this initiative as a great act of cooperation between government and private sector, coming in the wake of the promise made by President Ramaphosa three years ago at the Presidential Summit on GBVF. The President had committed his office to ensuring a multisectoral approach towards ending violence against women and children in South Africa.
Whilst applauding this initiative, the CGE remains cautiously optimistic about the fund, and looks forward to engaging with the key role players in terms of putting the necessary systems in place to ensure that the fund will be utilised to serve the purpose for which it was established. The CGE is keen that proper planning is carried out to ensure that the key stakeholders, including the intended beneficiaries, within the sector are properly consulted on the fund to ensure buy-in. The CGE urges greater transparency and accountability in the management and distribution of the funds. We believe the planning and implementation of this fund initiative should be rolled out without any delay to address the objectives of fighting gender-based violence and femicide in the country.
The Commission has over the years monitored the work of government, working closely with key stakeholders in the gender sector, to address gender based in South Africa. The Commission published several reports pointing to some of shortcomings of past efforts to address the scourge of gender-based violence, among which was lack of poor planning and lack of financial resources for gender related programming.
The CGE trusts that lessons contained in some of these reports would be utilised to avoid similar shortcomings going forward. The CGE wishes to remind all key stakeholders, including government, civil society and private sector organisations, to continue the fight to combat gender-based violence and gender-based discrimination in the workplace and society in general. The GBVF fund should be a valuable resource towards that end.
The Commission for Gender Equality, empowered by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the CGE Act 39 of 1996, as amended, will continue to discharge its mandate by, among others, holding those in positions of authority and responsibility to account, for progress or lack thereof, on the state of gender transformation in the country.
The Commission implores people to continue to use its toll-free number 0800 007 709, the GBV Command Centre Number 0800 428 428 and the SAPS Stop Gender Violence Number 0800 150 150.
Enquiries:
Javu Baloyi
Cell: 083 579 3306
