Experts welcome GBVF plan but warn implementation is key now
· Citizen
While some experts have welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest strategy to tackle gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), calling it comprehensive and timely, another said: “We’ve heard it all before.”
Most agree, though, that success will depend on whether authorities can overcome South Africa’s long-standing failure to implement plans.
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Experts welcome strategy to tackle GBVF
Addressing the nation on Tuesday night following a spate of killings of women and mass shootings at taverns, Ramaphosa announced immediate measures aimed at improving the response to GBVF and serious violent crime.
The measures include:
- A national case recovery operation to audit unresolved murders and sexual offences within 60 days;
- A funded plan within 60 days to reduce forensic backlogs and set turnaround standards;
- Municipal women’s safety audits to identify hazards like broken streetlights and unsafe transport routes within 60 days; and
- A coordinated legislative package within 60 days to address alcohol-related violence.
Brenda Madumise-Pajibo, director of feminist organisation Wise 4 Afrika, said the announcement was “nothing new”, pointing to previous government interventions she said had failed to produce tangible results.
“We have the national strategic plan on GBVF that was not institutionalised, let alone operationalised. If it was, the president would not have unveiled a four-point plan that must be implemented within 60 days, while the strategic plan has failed over the past seven years,” she said.
Nothing new – Madumise-Pajibo
“He announced an emergency response action plan on GBVF in 2021. He announced the classification of GBVF as a national disaster and, 10 months, later there are no tangible results.”
Madumise-Pajibo also questioned whether municipalities had the capacity to conduct the proposed safety audits.
“How does he expect dysfunctional, broken municipalities to conduct safety audits? What is the purpose of integrated development plans?” she asked.
Senior criminologist at the University of Limpopo Prof Witness Maluleke described the measures as comprehensive, intentional and timely, but warned that implementation and enforcement remained a concern.
“These are great strategies from the president. However, enforcement, application and implementation of the mandates remain distant at the moment,” Maluleke said.
Implementation remains concern
He said community awareness, confidence in the criminal justice system, stakeholder capacity and stronger cooperation between the justice system and other relevant stakeholders should be prioritised.
“The president’s position will remain a talk shop until the country starts witnessing positive results through strong institutional partnerships aimed at building safer communities and combating GBV and femicide against women and children, including men,” he said.
Maluleke also called for bylaws to be used to regulate operating hours and ensure strict compliance by alcohol outlets.
Institute for Security Studies security expert Willem Els said the strategy appeared methodical and comprehensive, but warned that implementation would remain the biggest challenge.
“I think you could see the hand of the acting [police] minister in the event last night.
SA good at drafting strategies but implementation always lacking
“We know that he is very methodical and rigid in what he is doing. He works according to a plan and is also very open-minded,” Els said.
Els welcomed the focus on recovering unresolved cases, saying detectives were often overwhelmed by large caseloads and limited resources.
“When detectives are so overburdened and have so many cases, they close a lot of dockets.
“If they don’t see that they can make progress, especially easy and fast progress, they tend to file them at the back of the back and eventually they are signed off,” he said.
Els attributed this to factors including motivation, skills shortages and inadequate resources.
Motivation, skills shortages and inadequate resources
“You can’t have five or 10 detectives working with one car and things like that,” he said.
“The police have to address that. Otherwise, they can come up with the best strategies like this one.
“It looks very good, but are we going to be able to implement it? That is where we normally get stuck.
“South Africa is very good at drafting strategies, plans and legislation, but implementation is always lacking.”
Els said audits and case reviews would require sufficient manpower and expertise, with prosecutors involved from the outset.
Audits and case reviews require sufficient manpower and expertise
“It should be multidisciplinary, but also multi-agency. The prosecution must be involved. They must sit and work on all those cases. We believe prosecution-guided investigation is the way to go.”
Els also warned that forensic backlogs remained a major challenge, saying police had failed over many years to establish an effective skills-retention programme.