Govt is more focused in addressing plight of women: Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says over 1.5 million women experience physical or sexual violence annually in South Africa.

The President has cited a survey completed by the Human Sciences Research Council in 2022.

Ramaphosa says the survey found, among other things, that over 600 000 men reported having perpetrated physical violence against a woman in the preceding 12 months.

He delivered the keynote address at the official Women’s Day commemoration yesterday at Pofadder in the Northern Cape.

Ramaphosa says men must change their behavior, “Guided by our national strategic plan, we have introduced new laws that protect survivors of gender-based violence that improve the response of the police and ensure harsher sentences for perpetrators. We have opened additional sexual offences courts where we are becoming more and more focused in addressing the plight of women in our country. We have expanded our network of the Thuthuzela Care Centres which have become a haven for women who are running away from abusive husbands or partners.”