On 29 September, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on South Africa’s progressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) crisis, announcing a new four-step recovery plan that will strengthen investigations, improve community safety, and reduce violence against women and children. However, for most South Africans, this announcement is accompanied by feelings of frustration from questions previously left unanswered. Cases of violence against women and children continue to dominate headlines nearly a year after GBVF was declared a national crisis. Many activists argue that previous plans failed to deliver long term solutions and meaningful change. These concerns have been further intensified by the ongoing court case against suspended senior police officer, Shadrack Sibiya. Raising questions about accountability and safety in institutions meant to protect and combat the GBVF crisis.
The President’s announcement was met with public scrutiny, as it was made long after GBVF was declared a national crisis. Although new approaches and promises continue to be broadcasted, there seem to be challenges when it comes to their implementation. This leaves South Africans asking “What will change?” The recovery plan will attempt to reduce forensic backlogs, recover unsolved GBVF cases, improve public safety, and reduce alcohol related violence. But sceptics argue that similar promises have been made before, with little evidence of implementation and accountability.
These concerns were further intensified as the announcement coincided with the ongoing court proceedings against Sibiya. According to court reports, Sibiya is facing sexual misconduct allegations against a minor, which is quite the contradiction. This explains why the case has attracted so much attention, in addition to concerns of leaked information related to the case. While allegations are yet to be proven, the case has revealed recurring allegations of sexual misconduct within law enforcement structures. Naturally, this has resulted in greater concerns in law enforcement’s ability to combat GBVF and has affected the public’s confidence towards the institutions meant to protect them.
Campaigners connected to the #NotFitForPurpose movement, a civil society initiative aimed at challenging the effectiveness of South Africa’s GBVF governance systems and processes, argue that the current structures assigned to combat the GBVF crisis are not sufficiently equipped, emphasising that the magnitude of the crisis remains significant and is escalating, while the institutions meant to address it lack funding, sufficient authority, and adequate accountability mechanisms to properly implement long-term plans. They reveal that incidents like that of Sibiya do not exist in isolation, but are part of a broader system of institutional failures and weak accountability.
According to the Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC) gender-based violence study, violence against women remains widespread in South Africa, raising concerns that it is far beyond a criminal justice issue, but also a broader societal ill. As initiatives aimed at addressing this crisis continue to develop, students are to be reminded that they are not far removed from the conversation. Safety on campus and its surrounding areas remains important, especially during exam and test periods where students spend more time studying on campus, often leaving late. Despite this, there are still streets where none of the streetlights are functioning. Siphosethu Nkosi, a student at the University of Pretoria, raised concerns about this in regards to safety on campus at night, emphasising that it often leaves students feeling vulnerable and stating, “Sometimes I’m even scared to go back to res.” It may be such institutional failures that are causing South Africans to lose confidence in the very same government meant to protect them.
As the government moves forward with its latest four-step plan, and Sibiya’s court case continues, many South Africans continue to ask, “What will change and who will protect us now?” In the end, the effectiveness of the president’s most recent intervention cannot be determined by the promises made, but by whether or not the government will deliver meaningful change.
Sources:
- OL: “What will actually change? Ramaphosa’s GBVF plan faces pressure to deliver” https://iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/2026-09-30-what-will-actually-change-ramaphosas-gbvf-plan-faces-pressure-to-deliver/
- Eyewitness News: “Suspended top cop Sibiya clarifies damning recording played in court” https://www.ewn.co.za/2026/10/07/suspended-top-cop-sibiya-clarifies-damning-recording-played-in-court
- Mail & Guardian: “Mr M has 300 recordings of Sibiya, court hears” https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-10-07-mr-m-has-300-recordings-of-sibiya-court-hears/
- UP student (Siposethu Nkosi) interviewed on campus safety
- News24: “Cop backing Sibiya’s bail bid allegedly leaked case details to him” https://www.news24.com/southafrica/crime-and-courts/cop-backing-sibiyas-bail-bid-allegedly-leaked-case-details-to-him-20261007-0640
- HSRC National Gender-Based Violence Study https://hsrc.ac.za/news/public-health/results-of-the-first-south-african-national-gender-based-violence-study-2022/
