‘GBVF continues to deny SA women freedom and safety’: Expert

South Africa’s democracy has not yet “dawned” for women and children, as gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) continue to limit their freedom and safety; this is according to an expert in Sexual violence, Rape Culture, African feminism and feminist resistance, Professor Louise du Toit of Stellenbosch University.

Du Toit says when women march today, it is for the unfulfilled promises of the country’s political transition, adding that the government the country has elected over many decades has failed its citizens.

She explains that GBV is one of the factors affecting women’s everyday lives and impacts on their basic rights, while emphasising that women are still being punished and silenced through GBV.

“We know how we are routinely in this country and in the world with the highest rates of violence against women, but there’s a larger and longer history of South African governments that have failed their people, and that is why women are marching,” says Du Toit.

Du Toit says the struggle for women’s freedom in the country is not over, as GBV continues to affect the everyday life of many women.

According to the National Assembly answers on GBVF, in May 2026, Prof Firoz Cachalia, Acting Police Minister, told Parliament that SAPS processed 88, 306 GBVF – related case entries and issued 25, 016 forensic reports in the 2025/2026 financial year.

Graphic by Sibusiso Biyela.

Du Toit says the country has a strong Constitution, but its protections do not always translate into women’s everyday lives.

She says due to GBV, many women have limited freedom of movement, association and speech.

Du Toit says that even though President Cyril Ramaphosa declared GBVF a national disaster, the declaration should mean more money is made available to fight the crisis and that state institutions coordinate better.

However, she says very little has changed on the ground.

“It’s again one of those instances of lip service.

There’s still not enough coordination, there’s a shortage of resources to take this crime more seriously,” says Du Toit.

She further says the women of 1956 are an important example for the current generation of women, as they fought against greater odds than women today have to, adding that today’s women have more resources and political representation.