Is government doing enough to help fight GBV?

GBVF costs the country at least R42.4 billion per year. South Africa’s private sector on Wednesday spoke about the role it can play in tackling gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). However, the conference was also marked by sharp criticism of government, with Women for Change founder Sabrina Walter arguing that the state has failed to show the urgency needed to combat the crisis. Walter’s comment comes after the Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, who had been scheduled to deliver the keynote address, failed to attend the event. Chikunga’s absence underscored the perception that government is not treating the fight against GBVF with the seriousness it demands. Different leaders in the private sector gathered at Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) in Gauteng to unpack how the private sector can play a more active role in preventing and responding to GBVF. This as research has revealed that the crisis costs the country at least R42.4 billion per year. Government’s participation in fighting GBVF President Cyril Ramaphosa declared GBVF a national crisis and classified it as a national disaster last year. The president also appointed the country’s first statutory National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF). The statutory body is mandated to provide strategic leadership, coordinate a multi-sectoral national response and drive the implementation of the national strategic plan on GBVF. Walter acknowledged these actions, but said it was never the end goal for Women for Change to get GVBF classified as a national disaster. “It was only the beginning, and it was the beginning to really hold the government accountable,” she said. “I think when last year 1.1 million people signed a petition and hundreds of thousands of people shut down the country the day before the G20 summit, they didn’t ask for another policy, they didn’t ask for another promise by the government. Those people really wanted action.” GBVF victims need faster investigations Walter added that the action people want to see is faster investigations, faster DNA backlog removal, better law enforcement and properly restored courts. “[We want] no bail for perpetrators who commit rape and murder because this is something that we have been asking for, for a very long time and for us working with survivors and families every single day we see how often those people get out on bail, accessible shelters and trauma informed support services and funding for organisations doing the frontline work. “The government cannot solve it alone and they will also not solve it. However, the government [is] where the work begins.” The minister’s no-show Walter expressed her disappointment at Chikunga’s absence, saying, “I think it all goes back to once again seeing how little this country cares about gender-based violence as a crisis.” The minister was meant to be a keynote speaker at the conference. Vodacom’s managing executive of group talent management and organisation effectiveness, Tando Mkosi, said it is important for organisations to realise that executive leadership sets the tone for whether GBVF is treated as a compliance issue or as something that impacts leadership drivers, ethics, and culture within the organisation. “Vodacom has introduced a policy supporting [the fight against] domestic violence and abuse within and outside the workplace, in terms of protecting our employees. What we try to create is a culture that tells every single employee that if violence touches your life, you do not need to carry it alone,” she said. Financial abuse Speakers noted that many victims start underperforming and missing work once abuse occurs at home. “It is important for management to look deeper when individuals start scoring low on KPIs and not showing up at work. You might find your employee is going through something deeper at home.” Nedbank led a panel discussion about financial abuse, exploring the often subtle and misunderstood nature of financial abuse, highlighting how it occurs in both personal relationships and broader societal systems. The discussion included the bank’s chief risk officer, Dave Crewe-Brown, and chief marketing officer, Khensani Nobanda, who both shared the view that it is more difficult to detect financial abuse than physical abuse. Imbalance of power Nobanda said their research has shown that potentially a lot of people who stay in domestic abusive relationships stay because of the imbalance of money. “There are many times as a couple you can decide that I will stay at home. That’s not a problem. I think the problem is when the other person who’s not making the money has no say in how the money is used, has no access to the money, is not able to make decisions and is told even in instances like, I will give you R2 000, but I want to know how you spend it. “So for me, financial abuse is the moment you lose autonomy around how money is used in relationships.” How financial abuse pays out Crewe-Brown said freedom comes from being able to determine what money is used for, which most partners in financially abusive relationships do not have. He highlighted that in some marriages, the one who does not earn a salary will not have a voice in how money is spent. One day, they will notice that there are things that have been taken out in their name because they are married in community of property. “We have seen actually from a financial abuse perspective where your partner, because they’re the one who brings home the bacon, is able to go to a bank and apply for a home loan and you move to commercial property and you don’t know about it. He noted that there needs to be the same level of decision making in terms of how the income that comes into the household is spent.”