Cele urges men to stand against GBV after President signs key bills

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Police Minister Bheki Cele says every man should take a stand against gender-based violence (GBV). He was speaking after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill and the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill into law at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday.

The two laws aim to ensure that women and children are safe and that corruption is eradicated.

Addressing dignitaries who attended the bill signing at the Union Buildings, Ramaphosa says the bill would provide leadership in the fight against GBV.

“The first piece of legislation facilitates the establishment of a National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. This statutory body will coordinate and provide strategic leadership in the fight against GBV and femicide. It will be multi-sectoral, drawing on the expertise of all stakeholders, including civil society, labour and business. Establishing this Council was one of the resolutions of the first Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, which I convened in 2018. Since then, working together, we have made important progress.”

President Ramaphosa signs GBV-Femicide Bill: 

Cele says police officers should treat cases of gender-based violence with urgency.

“Indeed this will enable us to do much better and much more. I said to the police that when a woman comes to the police station and says they have been abused, drop everything and attend to that woman because that is her last hope. Don’t tell that woman to go back and negotiate, they never come back to the station not because they are dead. Women, children and elderly must be really taken care of.”

In 2018, a Presidential summit on GBV was held. In 2019, Parliament was called to a joint sitting on the topic. That same year, R1.6 billion was allocated for the implementation of an emergency action plan on GBV and femicide.

In 2020, the National Strategic Plan (NSP) was adopted by the government as a programme to end the scourge. This was aimed at preventing GBVF and strengthening the criminal justice system’s response to it.

In 2023, three bills were signed into law: the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill; the Criminal Law and Related Matters Amendment Bill; and the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill.
However, activists are concerned that political parties are not saying enough about the issue, particularly the NSP, in their election manifestos.