News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today.News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today.
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Features
    • Shows
    • Op-Ed
    • Watch Live
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today.News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today.
    Watch Live Tv
    OUR TV SHOWS
    • BREAKFAST CENTRAL
    • VILLAGE SQUARE AFRICA
    • BUSINESS EDGE
    • SECURE THE CONTINENT
    • ONE SLOT
    • POLITICS HQ
    • REPORT DESK AFRICA
    • E CENTRAL
    News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today.News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today.
    You are at:Home»Politics»Southern Africa Politics»South Africa struggles with surge of gender-based violence
    Southern Africa Politics

    South Africa struggles with surge of gender-based violence

    Sibusisiwe NyandaBy Sibusisiwe NyandaSeptember 19, 201904 Mins Read
    Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    South Africa struggles with surge of gender-based violence
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Broken, cream-coloured tiles form a mosaic of a woman’s face in the entrance hall of a South African shelter for abused women. Branches extending from her head are painted across the wall, decorated with colourful leaves.

    “The face represents the broken women who arrive” here, says the director of the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, Bernadine Bachar.

    “The branches show the healing, growth and final empowerment they experience through the programmes we offer.”

    The centre in Athlone, on the outskirts of Cape Town, is a 24-hour safe house for women and children who have been victims of abuse.

    The shelter can take up to 120 women at a time with their children –- and they are usually at full capacity.

    #AmINext –

    South Africa has been hit by protests against femicide over the past few weeks after a series of murders that shocked the public.

    Among them was a student from Cape Town who was raped and killed in a post office.

    South Africa struggles with surge of gender-based violence
    Women hold signs and shout slogans as they protest to demand police protection against gender-based violence in solidarity with women who have been subjected to violence and in memory of those who have been killed, inside the Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Head Quarters of the South African Police Services (SAPS) in Durban, on September 7, 2019. (Photo by Rajesh JANTILAL / AFP)

    Women’s Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said that more than 30 women were killed by their spouses last month.

    The hashtag #AmINext has been trending, with protesters demanding immediate action from the government.

    Some of them have called for the return of the death penalty and for a state of emergency to be declared.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an emergency plan to stop the resurgence in violence against women on Wednesday.

    During an emergency sitting in the National Assembly, he said South Africa was one of “the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman”.

    The Western Cape Women’s Shelter Movement (WCWSM) protested outside parliament during the talks, demanding it consider the significant role played by safe houses for women and children.

    Bachar says urgent action is needed.

    “We’ve absolutely seen an increase in gender-based violence over the past three months,” she says. 

    “Not only has the number of women (affected) increased but they’re suffering from more intensive injuries than they used to before.”

    According to Bachar, they are seeing a lot more burn victims, particularly from boiling water thrown at the face, and an increase in stab victims.

    She blames this on a lack of government intervention, high levels of substance abuse and an unprecedented increase in unemployment rates that result in “a lack of power and control which drives gender-based violence”.

    ‘Dripping with blood’ –

    Bachar also accuses the police of not taking the victims seriously and says they need to undergo special training to equip them with the necessary skills to deal with cases of sexist violence.

    People from various religious church formations shout slogans as they march during the “One Nation, One Voice” campaign to remove the scourge of child abuse, femicide and other social ills facing all communities in South Africa on June 30, 2018 in Durban. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)

    One abuse survivor, Rachel Petersen, recounted a bitter experience with authorities.

    “I went to the police, and I was dripping with blood, but they still wouldn’t help me. They said they don’t get involved in ‘house issues’,” Petersen says.

    The 44-year-old, who currently lives and works at the abused women centre, blames a lack of education and awareness for the problem.

    “I was always taught by my grandmother that as a wife it is my job to be submissive. Before I came to this centre I didn’t even know what abuse meant,” she said.

    The centre receives funding from the Department of Social Development — but Bachar says that only covers 40 per cent of the annual cost of running the shelter.

    She says it needs a further R6 million, but raising that amount is “impossible”.

    “Increased funding would mean we could uniformly extend our services to more survivors.”

    Cyril Ramaphosa South Africa women
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleMoroccan TV show suspended for celebrity guest’s boast of “beating his wife”
    Next Article Africa’s smaller economies secure 13-year fragile sector protection
    Sibusisiwe Nyanda

    Related Posts

    South Africa Pushes for Peace in Israel‑Iran Conflict

    June 23, 2025

    Zambian Ex-President, Lungu to Be Buried in South Africa

    June 20, 2025

    South Africa’s Bavuma Reflects on World Test Championship Triumph

    June 19, 2025
    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Latest Stories Today

    Qalu Urges End to Harmful Widowhood Practices in Nigeria

    By Temitope OkeJune 23, 2025

    Founder of the Wicare Lekota Foundation, Diane Qalu, has called for a fundamental rethinking of…

    Iran Executes Man Convicted of Spying for Israel

    Ecuador Revokes Visa-Free Transit for 34 African Countries

    Ghana Cedi Steadies at GH¢10.30 to the Dollar

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    © 2025 Newscentral Television All rights reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.