PRETORIA, Gauteng — The newly established National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGVBF) has officially commenced operations in South Africa, marking a critical escalation in the country’s fight to eradicate gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). During the inaugural session in Pretoria, Council Chairperson Dr. Lebogang Mathibe Ramalepe and Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, detailed how this permanent statutory mechanism will enforce accountability and coordinate a unified, multisectoral response across all levels of government and civil society.
Dr. Lebogang Mathibe Ramalepe outlined the council’s foundational mandate: the prevention, elimination, and comprehensive response to GBVF from the national level down to individual wards. She emphasized that the council’s first 100 days will be dedicated to solidifying its constitutional structures, induction processes, and internal functioning. Following this foundational phase, the council will immediately engage with grassroots civil society organizations. “We are not going to reinvent the wheel,” Dr. Ramalepe noted, stressing the importance of leveraging existing groundwork to implement the national action plan effectively.
Clarifying the statutory boundaries and powers of the new entity, Dr. Ramalepe explained that the council is uniquely positioned to hold key state actors directly accountable. By design, the council’s composition includes representatives from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the police, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Development, and the Department of Education. This multidisciplinary setup ensures a direct channel to address systemic fragmentation, allowing the council to challenge these departments on their specific GBVF response strategies and demand actionable solutions during official meetings.
Addressing financial logistics, Dr. Ramalepe confirmed that while the council has received an operational budget for its own work, the broader funding for the National Strategic Plan (NSP) remains embedded within individual government departments. A critical legislative requirement mandates that the council must cost the national action plan within six months. To bridge funding gaps, the council is tasked with actively courting the private sector and developmental agencies. Dr. Ramalepe acknowledged that, currently, dedicated financial resources beyond those housed in the Minister’s office in the Presidency remain limited, making external partnerships essential.
Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga highlighted that the council’s activation represents a defining momentum shift, arriving less than a year after President Cyril Ramaphosa officially declared GBVF a national disaster. Operating under the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Act 9 of 2024, the body is designed to be more than a standard public institution; it is the formal institutionalization of South Africa’s commitment to ending one of the most severe human rights violations in the democratic era.
Reinforcing the “whole of society” approach, the council’s framework integrates voices from women’s rights organizations, survivor advocacy groups, and community-based organizations alongside government entities. President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed the council’s members to serve a three-year term, effective from the 1st of August through to the 31st of July 2029.
Additionally, the deputy minister noted that rapid response teams are now being decentralized to the local municipal level to guarantee that reported incidents trigger immediate, on-the-ground action. Ultimately, the council’s rigorous oversight and monitoring of the criminal justice system are designed to dismantle bureaucratic delays, delivering swifter, more tangible justice for survivors and their families.
