The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) has urged the ANC’s 5th National General Council (NGC) to make the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) one of its most urgent priorities.
Speaking at the gathering held at Birchwood Hotel on Monday, ANCWL president Sisisi Tolashe said the country must no longer look away, saying the name of the ANC will not be used to shield any perpetrator.
Abuse has reached worst levels
She warned that abuse against women and children has reached its worst levels across the country.
The Human Sciences Research Council revealed that overall crime decreased, but GBVF increased in the second quarter last year.
“Between July and September 2024, 957 women were murdered, 1 567 survived attempted murders and 14 366 experienced assaults resulting in grievous bodily harm. In addition, 10 191 rapes were reported,” reads the report.
Tolashe stood alongside the leaders of the party, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, ANCYL leader Collen Malatji and all provincial chairpersons with purple candles lit in recognition of the women and children affected by the GBV as she delivered her remarks.
“By the end of this National General Council we would have committed everyone under this roof for all of us to go back, and not only to talk about gender-based violence and femicide, but to do something drastic about it.
“We are lighting these candles because we are committing our leadership here today and starting from home to know that a wife, a child, a woman is not laid a hand on. We should leave here knowing it is a sin and a crime to lay a hand against a woman and a child, it is an unforgivable sin to rape,” said Tolashe.
Party needs to be seen fighting GBVF
She highlighted that the ANC should be visible in fighting against GBVF.
As GBVF has been declared a national disaster, she said, all structures are now expected to come up with unique strategies to fight against the abuse.
Across South Africa, the scale of violence against women has become impossible to ignore. Police statistics and countless personal stories show women hurt, raped, or killed in their own homes, often by partners or former partners.
GBVF is considered a national disaster due to its widespread brutality and deep roots in social attitudes that treat women and children as less important. It is also a crisis because it continues despite strong laws on paper.
The decision was announced in November by the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), under the authority of the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).
Tolashe told the NGC that the ANC must lead this change, not only through government but within its own ranks and structures. She insisted that survivors must feel heard and supported and that stories of suffering should no longer be met with silence.
