A placard calling for an end to gender-based violence during a protest outside a Khayelitsha court against the bail application of a man accused of rape and murder.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed the country's first statutory National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF), saying the body will provide stronger leadership and accountability in South Africa's efforts to curb one of its most pressing social crises.
The appointments, announced on Friday, take effect from August 1 and will run until July 31, 2029.
Established under the National Council on Gender-Based Violence Act of 2024, the council is responsible for providing strategic leadership on efforts to eliminate gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), while coordinating the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF across government and other sectors.
The president appointed Dr Ramalepe Lebogang Mathibe as chairperson of the council and designated Welheminah "Shoki" Tshabalala as deputy chairperson.
