WiCDS statement on femicide in South Africa
-
Like many other South Africans, we at the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Centre for Diversity Studies are horrified, enraged and frightened by the recent spate of murders of women in Gauteng. While these killings are particularly shocking in that they appear to be connected, the brutal murders of women are not new in our country. Last year GBV was declared a national disaster; but yet nothing has changed. Women are under threat at home, in public space, while moving around, while staying still. Weak responses from police and government communicate to South African women that it is their responsibility to be cautious and vigilant, even when caution and vigilance are standard practices.
WiCDS adds its voice to calls from feminist and civil society organisations for this crisis to be treated with the utmost urgency. Women, girls, queer and female-identified people are vital members of a functioning society. They have the right to feel safe, to live freely and to contribute to society and the economy. Ongoing failures to take any real action on the crisis of GBV affect not just victims and their communities but also the country as a whole. Violence against women is everyone’s problem. It demands forthright, transparent, robust and evidence-based solutions instead of hand-wringing and victim-blaming.