‘We’ve been set up for failure’: Little money to fight gender-based violence

Protesters hold placards as they lie on the ground during the Women’s Nationwide Shutdown at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg on November 21, 2025. Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP) There is no dedicated grant, nor can departments deal with funding the gender-based violence and feminicide (GBVF) national disaster. This is the view of MPs on the crisis of abuse in the country.

Usually, once a national disaster is classified, budget allocations from departments are set in place to assist recovery. Also, several grants, whether municipal or provincial, exist to further assist the funding of a disaster as stated in the Disaster Management Act (DMA). So, the question remains of how the classification and the 100-pageNational Strategic Plan(NSP) for GBVF, a roadmap to end the crisis of violence against women and children, will come into fruition.

GBVF has been classified a national disaster, not declared. The DMA states that departments must reprioritise funding for classified disasters within their existing budgets. If declared, the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) would have done so.

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This would have unlocked the ability for the Treasury to supply its resources directly. The Department of WYPD and Social Development are among those that oversee GBVF.

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