Midrand: Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, has emphasised that South Africa must urgently transform its approach to fighting Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), calling on the country to ‘rewrite the script’ of how violence is understood, prevented and portrayed.
According to South African Government News Agency, Letsike, speaking at the launch of the 2025 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign in Midrand, stated that symbolic outrage is insufficient while women and children continue to live in survival mode. She urged the nation to confront the issue with determination, refusing to normalize the ongoing crisis and trauma.
Letsike addressed the severity of the situation by highlighting alarming statistics, including the fact that a woman is killed by an intimate partner or family member every three hours in the country. She also pointed out the chronic under-reporting of rape, with only one rape survivor likely to report the crime during her speech, even though between 14 and 18 women are sexually assaulted in that time frame. Teenage pregnancy figures further underscore the hidden violence affecting young girls, with over 102,000 births to girls aged 10 to 19 in 2023.
The Deputy Minister also noted that statistics fail to capture the full scope of abuses, such as psychological and emotional abuse, economic violence, hate crimes against LGBTI persons, and cultural and traditional violence. She stressed that the reality of gendered violence is unsustainable and demands urgent change.
Under this year’s theme, ‘Rewriting the Script: Harnessing Film, Arts and Media to Prevent GBVF’, Letsike called on the creative sector to be a frontline of prevention. She emphasized the power of storytelling and representation in disrupting harmful norms and promoting positive behaviors, citing an encounter with a teenage boy at the Boys’ Parliament in the Western Cape as an example of how media shapes perceptions.
Institutions across the creative sector, including the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), SABC, Film and Publications Board, and Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA), were urged to lead the shift toward responsible storytelling and inclusive narratives.
The launch also marked the release of a five-year review of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF, identifying areas needing urgent strengthening. Letsike stressed that prevention must be a policy obligation, implemented through effective policing, teaching consent in schools, strengthening community safety structures, and ensuring perpetrators face consequences.
The 2025 programme integrates outcomes from the G20 High-Level Dialogue, which promotes positive masculinity and challenges harmful norms. Hosted by Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, the launch brought together filmmakers, media professionals, civil society, academia, and international partners to co-create solutions.
Concluding her remarks, Letsike urged the country to move beyond outrage and into sustained action, emphasizing that the 16 days of activism should ignite ongoing efforts throughout the year.